Ortus Everto
by MorbidOptimist
Summary: Changes are happening throughout the tower and its inhabitants. None more-so than to our dearest Raven, leaving Jinx and the rest of the team to figure out what's really going on before it's too late... AU Comic-show verse.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue. Please. Think of the green kittens!  
>Now if I <em>did <em>own the show Jinx would be a lesbian and Raven would totally have flings an-

-ahem. Anyways.

This story is probably going to be incredibly long and updates might take a few days. Maybe even months if I'm stuck or busy or lazy, but I do promise to finish this. Also this story (hopefully) blends some of the old comics in with the new show. Well, it was a new show, cancelled now and such but I digress. In short, expect a lot of characters, (hopefully) a decent plot, (hopefully) minimal grammatical and spelling errors, and a bit of romance and (unfortunately?) a lot of character strengthening abuse. I also promise to try to stay away from The_Douchebag_Overbearing_Robin or Terra_Is_The_Bitch angles. They deserve a bit better. Also for those of you who don't know Raven's full backstory...this might be interesting for you. I've tried to keep everything as "cannon" as possible while still keeping it fun and-

-Fine. _Yes. _

_There will probably be smutty sexy times in later chapters. With pretty girls._

Happy?

Good.

Read & Review if you want to...

P.S. If you don't like long stories, lesbian themes, violence, gore, references to demon deities, comic verse characters, or Teen Titans, _**GET OUT NOW.**_

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><p>Richard Grayson, better known as Robin by others, had long been known for his ability to keep calm and collected even during the most extraneous of circumstances, which was what made him an operable candidate for the leader position of the Titans organization and an extremely reliable friend, however, when the alarm sounded throughout the tower disrupting his routine sparring session in the recently renovated gym, a shiver of unexplainable fear settled about his spine and worked its way to the base of his neck. He dropped his bow-staff and wiped the sweat off of his mask and, in a rush, he dashed into the common room where the other Titans had already assembled. His feeling of dread only worsened when he noticed their grim expressions. Only Terra seemed less worried than the others which was probably due to the fact that the poor girl was still waking up. She was more than likely still getting reused to the Titan's erratic schedule Robin thought as he watched her yawn. She had only rejoined them a few weeks ago after all. Perhaps he'd have to push for the mandatory bedtime after all…<p>

"Cyborg, what's going on?" the Boy Wonder directed towards the half mechanical member of the team.

"Yeah, I mean, who in their right mind gets up to trouble at two o'clock in the-" Beast-Boy was cut off by a well meant prod from the blonde rock bender. He grinned sheepishly in reply before yawning himself. Come to think of it, he thought, anybody getting up to trouble in their town probably wasn't in their right minds. He watched silently as Cyborg began clicking away on the main computer.

"I don't know man, but I got a bad feelin' 'bout this, leeme check the scanner to see if anythin' comes up…" he replied; his fingers rapping against the keyboard controls, "oh man…" he dropped his hands and turned to face the others; his worried expression triggering the alien princess to speak first.

"What is it friend? Some horrendous new villain that we must conquer?" Starfire asked inquisitively, her ever bubbly nature ever prevailing.

The metal man shook head and replied hurriedly, "It's Raven."

"Dude, what'd'ya mean it's Raven?" asked the green changeling in confusion.

"She wasn't supposed to be on patrol tonight; something big must have happened if she's in trouble," Robin answered, "Cyborg get a lock on her location," he ordered without room for questioning, "and let's take the car; we don't want to take any risks if we don't have to."

"Ok…it looks like her com is right at the downtown library," he replied as his mechanical fingers whirled across the controls.

"Dude, wasn't that the one where those things chased us and we saw that thing and then Raven was all like weird and then Slade popped up and Raven threw 'em down all creepy-like? I thought that place was like _destroyed_?"

"Yes, and it was, and if she's there now then it can't mean anything good. Titans, let's _go._"

The team dashed to the T-car -or flew in Starfire's case, Cyborg took the wheel and Robin the shotgun, leaving the remaining Titans to scramble into the backseats. Cyborg pressed the buttons for the automatic seatbelts, the auto target lock, and the underground tunnel door opener button, which was secretly his favorite. As the car's wheels raced towards their fallen comrade, Robin's mental wheels were racing even faster. He was at a loss as to what could have overtaken the empath, and the only logical answers he could find only served to fuel his fears further. There was not much that could take on the daughter of the devil one on one, after all, she had taken down Trigon almost singlehandedly! After which the latter's powers had channeled themselves into the half demon, making her even more powerful than she already was. Of course that had also come with a cost for the psion, as she was still suffering from overwhelming amounts of physical and emotional pain. The thought did nothing to reassure him. He did not like the look of things, and he feared for the worst, whatever it might be.

What he found however was both infinitely better and worse than anything any of the Titans could have imagined, for what they found when they searched the library grounds was none other than the object of their search lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs, her cloak darkly stained with crimson fluids and very much unconscious. When Robin turned Raven over to see her face, he noticed too prominent wounds at the base of her neck. Puncture wounds, almost crescent shaped, and just far enough apart to fit into a roughly human sized mouth. There were also numerous cuts and bruises forming on the girl's body and Robin could only guess how many broken and fractured bones she had obtained judging from the way her limbs seemed to be positioned.

Beast-Boy, naturally, was the first to bring up a paranormal explanation, and normally, Robin would have cast off such musings as the product of Beast-Boy's over imaginative mind, but, he had long ago learned that whenever Raven was in the equation, nothing could ever be cast off or ignored, as her problems were usually several other problems compounded together and held basis in almost every field imaginable. The fact that her wounds weren't bleeding and he couldn't feel any pulse also put a stopper to any other arguments he might have made. He placed the fallen hero into the backseat and instructed Cyborg to take her to the infirmary and to start any procedure to help the violet eyed girl as he saw fit, and instructed the others to help him at the scene of crime to find any further clues as to what had happened.

There was not much to see. In fact, the area despite its grimy run down state littered with debris, actually contained very little of use to the Titans. After circling the yard a few times with Beast-Boy's Bloodhound nose, the only clue they found was of a strange vaguely familiar otherworldly scent that didn't quite match up to Raven's, Slade's, or to her father's and it was very faint. Jinx by that time had managed to pry the old library doors open, following on a hunch that there might be some relevance to the old building. Robin followed the hex caster inside after instructing Starfire and Super Boy to check out the scene from above. Beast-Boy continued to scent the area, hoping for a lead. Ravager, tempted as she was to make sure the car arrived safely back to the tower, checked out some of the various piles of debris that were still standing. The others applied themselves the best that they could.

The two oddest colored Titans wandered deeper into the dusty building, both feeling unnerved, Robin due to his past encounters in the place, and Jinx because she could sense lingering presences that flittered about her aura. She hugged herself and tried not to sneeze over any of the moldy books.

"Ya think Raven came in here or…" the pink mage trailed off. She spoke as much for keeping herself calm as she did from curiosity of her new teammate's well being.

"Hard to tell. Last time we were here she ran off. And for good reason. Right now we're just looking for anything useful or out of place."

"Why? What happened last time?" she asked, turning to face him in the gloom. She silently thanked her catlike vision once again as she narrowly avoided an overturned bookcase.

"The end of the world," he stated as he opened the secret passage, "Turns out this was actually the Church of Blood that worshiped her father, who's Trigon by the way, and when we investigated we heard a prophesy that didn't make sense till Raven sacrificed herself, got chased by some weird spirits that tried to kill us, and then watched Raven take down Slade from outta nowhere. And then of course, the whole end of the world thing. It was her birthday."

Jinx let out a low whistle; "Damn. Sucky place. Suckier birthday present."

"Tell me about it. So why weren't you with her?"

Jinx flinched and her smile vanished, "I didn't know she had gone," she whispered. They continued for a while in silence.

"Do ya think she'll be okay?" she asked as they descended another flight of stairs. She was doing her best not think about it but seeing Raven in a crumpled heap had scared her more than she had cared to admit. And she did care, she cared a lot.

"Raven's…Raven," he managed to reply.

Jinx nodded and turned her attention back to the stairs. Which seemed to have had fallen away some time ago. She cast a glance over the edge into the bottomless hole and grinned as she debated on whether or not to spit.

"Well genius?"

"Hold on," the fearless leader commanded as he grabbed her, ran off the last of the steps, and used his grappling gun in the same fashion he had the last time. The two swung safely into the next passage and Jinx proceeded to attempt to pry her nails out of the Boy Wonder's flesh.

"…A little warning next time would be nice..."

"Heh, sorry," he sheepishly replied while readjusting his belt, "Come on, it's not much farther now."

Unfortunately, when they arrived there wasn't anything to see. Beast Boy and the others had similar luck themselves. There didn't appear to be any other clues or leads or anything suggestive to be found anywhere and that failed to sit well with any of the group.

Meanwhile, in the Titan's medbay, Cyborg had hooked Raven to various equipment and numerous monitors and was trying his best to figure out just how Raven could be helped. He wasn't even sure if –Don't go there, he warned himself. She was still, but she was _always_ still, and he could have sworn he had seen her twitch gently when he had placed her onto the cot. He sighed and picked up a syringe, he would just have to run on the hope that there was still someway he could help. With any luck there would be a trace of what had attacked Raven in the area of her wounds that the scanners could identify. He placed the needle inside the left puncture wound and nearly cringed as Raven moaned quietly. In startled panic Cyborg ripped the needle out and caught his breath; at least she was still alive he thought, but for how much longer?

He almost sighed in relief when he heard the others thundering up the hall. Cyborg turned to face the others when they crashed inside the doors in a jumbled heap. They all wore exasperated and various degrees of worried expressions.

"Please inform us that friend Raven is in fact not harmed and that she has not become involved in some elaborate metaphysical philosophical debate between the divine!" the red head cried as she plucked herself from her companions.

Beat Boy shook himself and glanced worriedly about, "Dude of course she's gonna be okay, I mean, she's Raven! What would the kids say?" he said, in reference to the three "Tot Titans" that Raven had taken a shining too.

Several agreeing nods spread through the group before they pressed around their fallen friend as if they could will the shadow bender awake.

"Where's Speedy and Rosie-girl?" Cyborg asked, shoving through them to hook up Raven's blood transfusion. He was hoping that the universal type lived up to its name as he was low on options. Raven had bled out, he didn't know how much but as Raven was nearing a shade of pale he had previously thought impossible, he was going with "a lot." He inserted the IV into Raven's arm and began to bandage it in place, just in case it became jostled.

"They're still patrolling. Aqualad's got the sea searching for anything, the other branches have nothing to report and Oracle's put a word out on her end. They're long shots but if there's anything to be found I want to find it although if this thing gets any bigger the League is going to pop up on the main screen any minute telling us to stand down and hand everything over. You know how they get with demons."

"Dude they can't do that, they just freaking set us up!"

"I know bu-"

"Besides," Terra interrupted, her lingering disdain for the empath coating her words a bit more harsh than intended, "she's going to wake up any second, pull some freaky stunt and then tell us all not to worry and to forget about everything just like she always does."

Raven ironically chose that moment to noticeably stir, startling the others. She sat up, screamed a blood curdling scream, and raked her fingers along her back. She tore at her skin which started to seemingly drip off of her and large masses of flesh bulged outwards. Raven wailed and fell onto the floor, crippling pain shooting through every fiber of her being as her body changed. The others could only stare in shock as their friend writhed in agony as her ribcage contorted and compacted and then she stood and hunched over, clutching her head. The protrusions on her back spiked outwards suddenly, and before their platter sized eyes, took a more complete form.

They swept in graceful tragic elegance along her back; the freshly spilling blood trickling through the black-violet feathers down along the deceivingly thin batlike membrane eliciting quiet gasps from the other Titans as a single thought ran through their minds: "wings." Other features, such as the ebony colored horns and claws only further served as proof and the long spade tipped tail was also clearly visible. Raven, exhausted from the changes her body had underwent in an amazingly short span of time succumbed to the pain and fell limply to the floor. Jinx having recovered first and having somewhat expected something like this to happen, rushed to her partner's aid and managed to break Raven's fall.

"What the hell?" Beast Boy cried, unaware of his descent into profanity; his confusion mirrored in the faces of the others, "Sh-she's a…a…"

"A demon."

Their heads whipped to face the owner of the voice. They did not need any introduction for the person standing a few mere feet away; they had heard many a description about her from the empath. Azar. Raven's mentor and leader of Azarath's ecclesiocracy. Azar looked to be the complete counter image of Raven, with long angelically white golden hair, infinitely light blue eyes and two pairs of wings that called forth visions of oversized doves. She was dressed similarly to the uniforms Raven usually wore, save for its white color and the billowing fabric that fell in a slited dress as opposed to Raven's black leotard. Her manner was calm, and her aura suggested that thousands of years of wisdom resided within her. She was powerful. Frightening. More so because of her height, nearly seven and a half feet of graceful slimlined glory.

"What have you done to my _parum__privigna_?"

"Well your grace," Robin began as he was the first to recover himself, "She's been attacked by something. We don't actually know by what or who."

"We think it was a vamp –oof" the shapeshifter began as he was once again cut off by a well placed elbow.

The godlike woman knelt beside Raven and glanced over her before looking back at them.

"Perhaps, you should start from the beginning…"

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><p><strong>So this is a long prologue... bare with it. Also, comic verse Azar is not immortal, didn't have wings, was really old and wrinkly, and died when Raven was still on Azarath but in the show she was never talked about and come on folks, this <em>is<em> a fan_fiction_. Plus there _may_ be a point to it. Later. **

**Also, the next chapter, the first chapter as it were, will take us back to the relative beginning. Confusing, I know, but I believe in you. You can handle it you smart reader you. **

**ALSO also, the title roughly translated means the equivalent of "demon rising"or "rising evil". I'm not usually one for titles like that but for this story I made an exception, hope y'all don't mind. **

**One final thing, I take my writing seriously so if any of you see any sort of mistake or inaccuracy or contingency flaw, _LET ME KNOW SO I CAN SEE ABOUT FIXING IT. _**

**That is all. Read & Review if you want to.**


	2. It has begun

Chapter one: It has begun.

To put it simply, Raven was annoyed. Not in a "_I swear I'm going to send them into another dimension" _annoyed, but more of a "_I am going to make Wonder Boy pay_", which occurred every so often when the boy in question did something the empath considered a slight against her, however unintentional. Normally, her annoyance was cast upon the green member of the group but for once he had played no hand in the Russian roulette, thus leaving only the fearless leader as prey for her ire.

Robin had decided that the Titans hadn't been acting at full capacity; there were scattered recruits and many "loose cannons" that Robin felt could be put to better use in the field; a point to which Raven herself had often hinted. Therefore the Tower was bringing in more Titans, on a permanent basis (or at least that option was available at the new recruits' decisions) and similarly at Titans East, as well other branches across the continents; even the Justice League was sending in a few of their younger members for training and experience. That wasn't the part Raven minded.

Along with this plan came many changes, such as the paperwork they were now required to fill out after every mission, and the fact that training regiments were going to be regulated and individualized as best as was possible, also was the fact that the Titans were further implementing the "Pair Plan." In short, the team could and would, be split up into pairs or smaller groups whenever necessary to better protect multiple targets and keep individual problems such as fatigue to a minimum. The last notion was a bit unfamiliar to Raven, who, being the fifth member usually ended up on her own. Not that she had minded, especially as her powers did have a tenancy to take their tolls on her. What she did mind however, was that she would not get a say in whom she was going to be paired with. And she rather liked to think that she had the right to an opinion in the matter, being a senior and original founding member of the team.

She sighed and walked down the empty corridor until she reached the main hall. At the moment, everyone was undertaking the last preparations for the new arrivals. Some of which Raven could sense already. She rubbed her temples; ever sense she had defeated her father her powers had been increasing –gaining the powers her father had held- and they were growing in potency and pain. Soon she would not even need her mantra to call forth the powers of darkness or concentrate to heal injuries. The thought scared her far more than she cared to admit.

Cyborg was the first to notice her, and flashed her a large grin before returning his attention to the daily battle of breakfast held with the green changling.

"Du~ude, I'm not eating meat!" he whined dramatically waving tofu burgers about.

"And who says I'd let ya have any grass stain?" he retorted with just as much enthusiasm.

Raven chuckled inwardly and set about making her morning tea. Find the kettle on the stove. Turn off the hot water. Find a cup. Pour. Mix in the herbs. Let cool. Drink. Realx…

"Good morning friend!" Starfire chirped gleefully from behind her.

"…Good morning Star…"

"Did you have a restful night of sleep?"

Raven merely nodded. She was used to avoiding the truth.

"I am glad, for today is a most joyess day," Starfire exclaimed while spinning in the air, "we shall have new friends! Is that not wonderful?"

Raven didn't reply but instead turned to find their Fearless leader; "…I'll talk to you later Star…" she said gently, to avoid hurting her friend's feelings. Starfire, being used to Raven's elusive nature ventured over to the two boys brawling over breakfast. Raven wafted over to where Robin was currently imputing the final bits of data on the main computer.

"…Robin…"

She caught his attention immediately, as he knew full well that Raven rarely talked without reason as of late. "Yes Raven, can I help you?" he asked as he switched off the device and turned to look at her.

"…About my new partner-"

"-It'll be fine Raven, I promise. It'll take a bit of getting used to but it's for the best, ok?" he said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder (one of the sparse forms of physical contact she allowed), "I know you Raven, and I know that you've been doing just fine on your own but it's safer this way."

"…And you want me to help train them…" she continued, their mental bond allowing her a bit of insight on his thoughts.

"That too," he said with a grin.

The doorbell rang and Raven receded into the shadows. Robin muttered slightly to himself and went to welcome the new members. Raven watched them all mix and mingle from her spot in the corner. It appeared that Super Boy and Terra were the first to arrive and then one by one, others trickled in…Speedy…Rose Wilson…Super Girl…Donna Troy…and _Jinx_. An odd pang fell through her as stared at the pink pesky imp. A few visiting Titans that were just stopping by to get acquainted had also arrived and Raven was able to spot Mas y Menos as well as Aqualad and Jericho. The tower was soon filled with greetings and the general dull roar of teenagers intermingling.

Eventually Robin cleared his throat and the din quieted, "Welcome to the Titans!" to which he was met with various replies and Raven allowed her mind to wander as he began his introduction speech, she hadn't slept much in the past few months thanks to her powers, and all the mind reader really wanted was to lose consciousness for a bit. After a few minutes she felt a presence beside her, opening a violet eye, she was met with pink. Jinx. An internal groan sounded within her brain. Which deity had she managed to piss off this time?

"Hey Rae," she said, her head cocked to the side. Raven wasn't entirely surprised by the piercings on the young girl's face but the lack of her usual ensemble was enough to jerk Raven out of her lull. The pink pixie was wearing a pair of studded stiletto boots, mismatched stockings, a plaid miniskirt, and a cottoncandy colored corset. Yup. The gods were defiantly laughing at her. Again.

She sighed before replying, "…Hopefully he'll stop talking soon…"

Jinx grinned her infamous Cheshire grin, "Thank Cathulhu I'm not the only one!" she giggled, "So…"

Raven tilted her head a tad.

"….You really don't say much do you?"

Raven gave a half hearted shrug. She returned her attention back to their fearless leader who was now done pairing everyone off and beginning the basic tour and explaining the daily schedule for those intending to stay for awhile. Raven silently cursed herself for not paying more attention until she felt Jinx lean into her; her head whipped around to see Jinx grinning like a maniac. So she did what she did best, she stared at her.

"We're gonna be pals!" she said with a wink.

Oh Gods no! Raven thought, _anyone_ but her… She could already sense the oncoming headaches. The girl would be worse than Starfire or BeastBoy, she'd be constantly bubbly _and_ crack jokes… Robin would pay, oh yes he would pay...

Jinx watched Raven go from zero to 4.5 on the "Raven Danger Scale." She backed up a few steps, scared that she had angered the half demon. "…Or not…"

"…He shall pay…" Raven seethed.

"O~kay," Clearly, Jinx thought, Raven had gotten onto the crazy train and she decided that helping herself to some grub was far more desirable then dealing with a tripping assumed devil offspring.

She made for the remains of the breakfast Cyborg and Beat Boy had so rabidly prepared, piling some overcooked grease based bacon on a few shoddy pancake remnants and then smothered it all with syrup. Raven, her attention drawn to the culinary horror, forgot about her desire to inflict her deadly wrath upon her leader, and instead stared at the pink hex caster as she shoveled the concoction into her face.

"…It's not going anywhere. I'm pretty sure nobody's going to fight you for it."

Jinx turned to face her and swallowed sheepishly; "Ya never know. In the HIVE if you didn't eat your food fast it sometimes ate you."

"You might want to stay away from Starfire's cooking then," she whispered, casting another glance at Jinx's plate.

"You can have some if you want," she offered, "it ain't half as bad as the slop in the pen is;" she didn't usually share her meals but if it meant the dark Titan would eat the food and not her face…well then, she was all for it. Unfortunately the offer held the opposite effect and Raven scoffed. With an almost arrogant turn she strode over to her spot on the sofa and whipped out a well worn book from her cloak. Jinx felt slightly offended and relieved, so far nothing had blown up and Raven hadn't sucked out her soul. And she had found _food_. With _syrup_. The sweet kind. Life was good. She smiled to herself and began humming a little tune she had made up once during an incarceration. Raven was not amused.

From the hallway came the thundering of angry meta-humans and clouds of emotional turmoil. Jinx spun around and cast a questioning look at the empath, who shrugged. The others burst through the doors shortly after.

"I don't care about your daddy problems or your oh-woe-is-me attitude! I mean look at Raven, her dad's the devil and you don't see her stuck up her own ass!" Beast Boy shouted.

"I love you too Gar," she replied dryly without looking up from her book.

"Okay, well, maybe you do… -But that's different!"

"You're right, it is," said Rose, "I'm not denying my parentage."

"Dude! Look, all I'm sayin is just cause Slade's your dad doesn't mean you have be like him! I mean your suit is nice but…"

"But it reminds you too much of him?"

"Yeah. That. And the 'tude dude. It's like, creepy…"

The one eyed teen shook her bone white hair and walked to the front door.

"Come on now, don't mind the green bean, he's an idiot," Cyborg pleaded, punching his friend in the arm.

"Yeah, you can't leave before we've even been on a mission," Speedy threw in.

"I'm not leaving, I'm getting my ride," she replied as the main door slid shut.

"Damn, what's her problem?" asked Kon-El as he walked into the common room with Richard.

"All right, all right, enough everyone, we'll have combat practice in a few hours. Come to think of it, Jinx, Raven, you two weren't with the tour. Got any questions?"

"Where's my room?" Jinx asked, "I'm kinda beat."

He looked like he was about to reply but then changed his mind, "Raven, you can take her."

"Joy, please excuse my overwhelming enthusiasm…"

"Raven," he warned.

She sighed and cast a look at the pink tinted Cheshire grinning maniac following her. This was going to be the start of something horrible. She was sure of it.

…Deep in the darkness, four eyes watched the young demoness escort Jinx to the latter's new room. The plan would soon commence, perhaps even sooner than they had dared to hope…and it looked as if the key to their plan was already in motion...


	3. I'm with who?

**Again I own nothing. Please don't sue. **

**We are now approaching the plot! Woot!**

**Also, I know Robin/Nightwing might seem a little mean at the moment but he's still a nice guy. I hope. **

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><p>The first few weeks were <em>chaotic<em> to say the least. Everyone was settling in to their new lives and readjusting to the shifted environment. Garfield to having his long pined lost love return, Robin having to not jump into action whenever catching Rose from the corner of his eye and so forth. There were still tension between some members, but none more so then that between Jinx and Raven. They helped each other in battle without trouble, but when it came to life at the Tower, well…to say their relationship was strained was an understatement. Surprisingly Jinx was the one trying to set things right, however sporadically misguided her attempts seemed to be. Raven seemed to want no part in it, nor in Terra's halfhearted attempts at reconciliation forced by the green changeling's hand.

The other duos seemed to be better at adapting, sans maybe Ravager, but she was diligent to her duties and so Speedy didn't have much of a problem, especially because according to rumor, he had a sort of thing for her to which she according to more rumors, may or may not have reciprocated. Everyone else gave her space and left well enough alone. The "Super Siblings" as Beast Boy dubbed them also took a bit more getting used to, as their views of public involvement were severely different from Robin's ever increasing "the Bat actually had it right" attitude. Luckily enough the press was only too happy to lap up their attention and the other Titans only hoped that the good press would be a permanent trend.

Perhaps the thing that took the most getting used to was Robin's gradual change into becoming Nightwing. It had started a few months after Raven's birthday. His manner of conducting missions, the way he spoke, and even the way he was interacting with the other team member's shifted from the more happy family orientated Boy Wonder to the ever battle ready plans of the True Fearless Leader that would soon return to take his place in Gotham once again. This change hit harder on the original Titans, and for Raven it couldn't have been happening at a more inopportune time; she missed having the moral support of her friend and she didn't much care for the disdain of Richard's new persona.

Not that she was going to complain that is, as she was far too busy with other more important things, like making sure that Melvin's powers were developing adequately, and that the dishes stayed clean and intact at the end of the day and that Jinx didn't get up to any mischief and other menial tasks such as meditating, trying the various medications that Cyborg hoped to be beneficent, completing her online classes, and filling out the miles of paperwork that the others didn't want to do. And of course she also had to keep herself from strangling/maiming/losing control of her powers and or threatening everyone as her headaches increased. Nightwing was sure to state that as one of her top priorities. Twice. The most recent being the month before the new Titans' arrival, when she had failed to properly assess the situation and act accordingly during a bank robbery. Thinking back on it, it was likely the event had triggered some of the recently implemented changes; go figure.

Really though, she was trying. And it wasn't her fault that the man had scared her…although in hindsight, she thought to herself as she leaned against her bed, vice gripping him past unconsciousness and almost into death hadn't been the best of her reactions. It had taken the others several attempts to get her to calm down enough to release him. And then it had taken Richard hours to convince the press that it was part of the plan and that the Titans knew what they were doing. She shuddered a little remembering the long talk that had followed; and ever sense Cyborg had been running tests and giving her different medications to try to solve the problem. -Assuming of course that there was in fact a problem with her and that it wasn't just a natural side effect of gaining her father's powers.

She sighed and looked at the small plastic bottle in her hands. Hopefully this new prescription would help, Cyborg had almost sworn that it would help her brain sort out whatever chemical imbalance Nightwing was convinced she had. She just hoped it would ease her headache. She had a ten page essay due by dinner that she hadn't finished. She popped open the top and shook a few small red capsules into her palm. Cyborg had been quite specific, one in the morning and two at night, when she was more likely to lose concentration over herself. She glanced at the clock, not even time for breakfast yet, and swallowed one. She dumped the rest back into the bottle and set it on her dresser.

A knock came from outside her door.

"Hey Ravie, it's me…can I talk to you for a sec?" came Jinx's muffled syrupy voice.

She stood up, dusted herself off and readjusted her clothes, and decided to humor her partner; the cold metal door of her room slid open as she sat on the edge of her bed. If she had to take the pills, at least she could test her patience while on them, she supposed.

"…What?"

Jinx sucked in a deep breath and walked closer to the dark Titan. Her pink catlike eyes nearly bore holes through Raven's retinas; "You've been a bitch to me for the past three weeks and I want to know why."

Raven snarled internally, how dare this…this…insolent brat barge into her room and accuse her of anything? Raven shook her head gripped her knees, clearing away the burst of wrath. The medication would kick in any minute…she just had to keep her head clear until then…

"I know we didn't always… ok... so we fought a lot. I'll give you that. But at least we respected each other back then! Now you hardly ever even look at me!"

…Just a few more minutes…this time it _had_ to have worked…

"And that stunt you pulled in the gym was low. Especially for someone like you!"

The gym? Oh yes...she remembered that. It had been time for her daily workout. It had been her second attack on the cat eyed girl. She had been on one of the treadmills, focusing on her breathing, when she sensed Jinx messing around on the gymnastic bars. They had ignored each other for the better part of half an hour, an unprecedented record of Jinx keeping her mouth shut. Of course it hadn't lasted for much longer after Raven had mistakenly glanced in her direction. Jinx had wandered over to her, happy, hopeful, and sweaty.

"Hey Ravie," she had said.

"Ven."

"What?"

"It's Ra-ven. Not Rae –vie."

"Aww…poor Rae-Rae doesn't like nicknames huh?"

She hadn't replied, she had just sped up the treadmill, as if she could run away from her aggressor.

"So I heard you saved the universe a few months ago."

She had nearly growled.

"Musta been some kinda awesome fight, huh?"

She had spun her head around to yell at the girl, forgetting the moving belt under feet, causing her to fall and scrape her chin as the machine spat her to the floor like an unaccepted bill at the ATM. Jinx had gasped and had backed up, perhaps the wisest choice she had ever made. Raven had snapped, been blinded by rage, and only Jinx's luck twisting powers had saved her. Raven's anger had chosen to take her aggression out on the mill rather than her comrade, for which, the pink metahuman was thankful. Still, the sheer power Raven had displayed frightened the poor hex mage a bit. The only thing that stopped her from running was the fear that it would entice the empath to follow her.

As if on cue, Raven had turned to face the girl, four gleaming red eyes and cruel fangs gracing her otherwise cold sculpted beauty, "You fucking bitch," she had growled lowly, far too low for any normal girl. She had pinned Jinx to the floor with her powers, with every intent on strangling the life out of her; Jinx as afraid as she was, was by far used to fighting and shot a stream of hex energy into the psion without thinking and Raven had howled in outrage as she cringed away from the blow.

Jinx stood up as Raven seemed to pull herself back together. The last thing that she had said to the girl before disappearing to her room was, "You fucking idiot."

"_And now you won't even talk to me!"_

Raven shook her head as she was brought back to the present. She could feel the anger of the memory fade into apathy. It was more dangerous than anger but at least she knew how to control _this_ emotion. She sighed; come to think of it she had seemed rather harsh on the girl, even if that's not what she had intended. Perhaps it wasn't too late to apologize, not that it mattered much, as either way they would still be stuck together under their leader's orders.

Jinx paused in her tirade, why wasn't the empath saying anything she wondered, and why was she just sitting there? She was about to ask if the violet eyed girl was all right but Raven cut her off.

"I'm…sorry… For seeming _cold_ I mean."

Jinx stared at her for a few minutes before replying, "So does this mean we can get along now?"

"…I guess. But don't push it. At all. "

Jinx's infamous grin swept across her face as she placed her hands on her hips; "Well then, I'd say it's time to get this tryst off on the right start!" she held out a hand, "let's be friends, m'k?"

Raven, seeing the world a bit more sluggishly than usual nodded and hesitantly shook the girl's hand, the action seemingly taking her longer to do so than usual.

"…Now get out of my room before I send you to another dimension," she said in her infamous monotone. Jinx grinned but nodded and turned to leave, as she was about to open the door the Titan's alarm sounded, startling the girls, who looked at each other briefly before racing to the common room. They arrived and crowded around the others by the main computer.

Robin was standing in front of it with a cold scowl on his face. He turned around to face his team, Jinx specifically; "It's the HIVE."

Surprisingly the pink haired sorceress showed no signs of shock by the news, internally however, she was a wreck. She had already faced her old team once before when she was running around with the fastest kid in Jump but…they were still her family. You don't mess with family. She only nodded.

"This will be a great chance to try out our buddy system. Vic, Donna, I want you two there," he turned and cast another glance at Jinx, "If you can, your input on the situation could help us a lot. I'm not going to force you to take them down though. I doubt you or Raven are up for it."

Jinx tossed a glance at Raven, who seemed calmer than usual. She looked back at the walking traffic light, "I think we can manage."

"In that case move out, I want status reports every couple of minutes if you can, I'm going to have the mission monitored from here. If you need any help just page us. That's an order. We don't need any unnecessary damage out there."

They nodded in reply.

"Dude, good luck out there!" Beast Boy called out as the doors to the garage closed. The small group piled into the T-Car. Cyborg of course driving and Raven used her "shadow express" to steal shot gun, leaving Donna and Jinx to settle themselves in the back seat.

"Think we can take them?"

"Man I know we can, we got like," Cyborg paused as he opened the door to the garage's underground tunnel, "coordination. When we get out there they're not gonna know what hit 'em," he finished as the car began speeding to the largest bank in Jump City.

"Jinx," Donna began, "feel like giving any helpful hints?"

"Don't let Mammoth get a chance to wind up and don't underestimate Giz. I'm guessing they're gonna use our old strategies unless they got any new brain power," Jinx shrugged and looked out at the city racing by her window, "Just try not to let them follow through I guess."

Wonder Girl nodded in respect; it must not have been easy for the witch to do this, she realized. Say too much and betray your past. Say too little and prevent progress. She hoped the lithe meta knew how to dance the delicate line she was wandering.

They arrived on the scene just in time to see Billy Numerous and a couple of his clones lording over shivering average city goers who had just so happened to have gone to the wrong bank at the wrong time. Cyborg didn't know where the red suited southern drawling dummy had gotten the sinister looking firepower they were carrying, but he quite intended to make sure that the Billy's didn't get a chance to use them. Jinx was more focused on the apparent replacement for her abandoned position on the team, Angel, whom she had once met with a minor respect as girls in the H.I.V.E. were few and far between. She was standing on one of the teller counters, Kid Wykkyd standing right beside her. So they were still together, she thought. She would have smiled at their fortune but the heaviness in the situation didn't allow her the luxury. Wonder Girl was worried about the hostages, and was trying to come up with a plan to that left nobody injured or worse if it could be helped.

The dark empath was a bit more conflicted, and was debating on calling in for that backup. There were four Titans and six (more if you counted Billy's clones separately) H.I.V.E. members and the two of the Titan's were still metaphorically testing their wings. Speaking of which, Raven didn't recognize the winged girl that was with them, Robin had failed to inform them of her. At the thought of the persona transitioning leader Raven felt herself bristle. She was _sick _and _tired_ of him and of fighting every Johnny Destructo and Lucy Loon who wandered into town; so when one Billy happened to point his overcompensating gun in her direction, the psion in her soulself's form _lunged_.

The H.I.V.E. members quickly sprang into action and Gizmo's toys snapped to attention, throwing flickers of dangerous electricity which Cyborg quickly set out to destroy before they hurt the civilians. Wonder Girl met against Mammoth's stampeding run and the two clashed with harsh battle cries. While they were busy, some of the free Billy's shot a few warning shots into the air and Jinx was filled with a mixture of pride and despair.

To think her old teammates would stoop to those kinds of levels? And _after_ she had left? Clearly, the new brain on the team needed a few lessons in Street Ed again. Stealing and trivial mayhem was one thing that led to minor consequences and incarcerations that led to many easy jailbreaks without much fuss. Killing was another thing entirely and led to the chair or permanent imprisonment which for meta's never boded well, and the thought of her old friends locked up in a permanent slammer made the bottom of the meta's stomach drop. Pushing those thoughts aside, she cast a few hex bolts at the landmines, allowing most the civilians to run towards the exit and into the protection of the police line outside.

Cyborg nodded a thanks in her direction and began the task of taking down Angel and Kid Wykkyd. Wonder Girl had already made short work of Mammoth, her brains _and_ brawn making him an easy quarry, and she quickly set into the task of stopping See-More, who seemed to be the one keeping an "eye" on everything near the bank's ceiling. Jinx turned her attentions to Gizmo, her feline grace and knowledge of her old friend allowing her to keep three steps ahead of his robotic legs. As she danced about him, tossing a few hexes here and there to cause his focus to slip, the pink haired sorceress caught a truly terrifying sight out of the corner of her pungently pink eye.

Raven's body, obscured by her now elongated cloak, was using numerous shadow tentacles on the Billy clones. She looked like she was strangling them, and their guns fired harmlessly at her, the bullets sinking into the dark matter of her soulself like rocks in quicksand. Jinx placed a good kick into the nearest mechanical spider leg and stopped herself from wincing when Gizmo tumbled to the ground. She dashed over to her partner, weather intending to help Raven stop Billy, or to help save him from the empath she wasn't quite sure. So much for the "pair plan" she mused.

She dodged the flailing shadow tentacles with acrobatic ease and skidded to a halt before literally running into her comrade. Raven seemed far too focused on the Billy's for her liking. She had to fix this before it had a chance to get out of hand. But how? The hex caster looked at the others. Cyborg had his hands full with Kid Wykkyd and Donna was locked in combat with See-More so they weren't going to be any help. Jinx cursed her luck, or rather, her lack of it, and tried not to snarl when she caught the look of satisfaction her winged-replacement tossed her.

"Raven!" she shouted over the din.

The empath either didn't hear her or ignored her as she flung a couple of unconscious Billy's to the hard floor below her. Jinx swore and looked around again. She had been about to attack the empath, only to startle her of course, when she caught sight of Angel making a beeline towards her. She sighed and readied herself; she only hoped that Raven knew what she was doing.

Angel, her wingspan increasing dramatically as she speeded closer, aimed a kick at the pink haired witch and she dodged it with ease, using the opportunity to throw in a good punch. Angel caught it, expecting the maneuver from Gizmo's debriefing, and used her oversized wings to bash the cateyed girl to the ground.

The world was spinning and blurry and everything suddenly felt like a tornado had tossed a trailer park ontop of her. Jinx spat out coppery tainted saliva and fired a few hex blasts at her opponent, hoping to win a bit of distance between them. To her surprise, instead of the winged girl retreating or even attacking further, it had served to catch Raven's attention and she dropped the remaining Billy's to the ground as she entangled a screaming Angel in her tentacles. Kid Wykkyd blasted Cyborg in attempt to escape to her aid but the metal man managed to prevent him. Donna, still struggling with See-More could only throw them worried glances when time allowed.

Jinx, vainly bating away blurred vision, darted over to where the Raven was attempting to rip off Angel's wings with an inhumanly cruel smile and large red eyes.

"_Ravie_!"

The empath turned to look at her, forgetting about the person locked in her grasp.

"Put her down," Jinx ordered, her eyes locked with Raven's, the bank suddenly quiet as all attention focused on them, "Put. Her. Down."

Slowly, Angel was lowered, and Raven's form began shifting back to its normal state. Cyborg shared in Jinx's sigh of relief and they returned to battling with clearer minds and renewed vigor. In almost no time at all, the remaining H.I.V.E. members were brought down and the Titans turned the scene over to the police.

"Awww man," the tin man enthusiastically exclaimed, "that was tight!"

"Yes, all seems to be well now," Donna replied, equally proud of the turn of events.

"I mean, not only did we save the day and kick bad guy butt," he began, giving the girl wonder a high five, "but we also got ourselves a good tag team," he continued, directing his words at Jinx and the quiet empath beside her, "I mean am I right?" he added hastily when neither of them responded.

"Are you two alright?" asked Donna, more concerned than the still gloating partially mechanical Titan.

"Well I have a concussion…I think I'm bleeding too," Jinx offered, running her fingers through her cotton candy hair and giving them a once over, but her smile eased the tone of her words and there may have been a hint of laughter in her eyes.

"…I'm...I am fine…" was all the psion replied. Raven was still _recovering_ from the incident earlier and didn't quite trust herself at the moment. Her apathetic mood swing had almost led to disastrous consequences and she could only stand quietly and imagine the things Robin was going to respond with. Or worse, what _Nightwing_, had to say about the matter.

With that the Titan's gave their statements to the authorities, called their leader and told him the mission was a success, and piled into the T-Car. Raven, oddly, choose to ride in the backseat, leaving her favored shotgun position open for Wonder Girl to grab. Jinx, more out of pain then compassion sat quietly beside the darkest Titan while the crew sped back to the tower to give their fearless leader a full report and to attend to Jinx's injuries.

Her injuries were minor, and thanks to her meta-human capabilities, were quickly healing on their own accord although Cyborg took the liberty of disinfecting them to be on the safe side. Raven on the other hand, did not come out so _unscathed_.

"Raven," he began, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I realize no lasting damage was done…but-"

"I am sorry."

"-But this can't keep happening, one of these days one of us might not be around to fix things and you're going to lose complete control and do something everyone will regret."

"Dick…"

The Boy Wonder sighed and eased his tone, "I'm not trying to be mean Raven, I'm being practical. Your powers are hard to control, I get that, I really do, but you _have_ to figure something out. Did you even take your medication?"

"Yes, I did, and it made me feel…apathetic…and then when I saw Numerous with those guns…I just…stopped caring entirely…" Raven said, slowly shaking her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen. I'll try harder."

"See that you do. Just be thankful that Jinx was there to stop any real damage from being done…although I do think Billy and Angel are going to need some time in the psychiatric ward to fully recover. And I don't think Wykkyd is going to be too pleased either."

The empath nodded and ignored the snickering coming from a certain green and blonde couple. The thought of Billy blubbering about Raven the way Dr. Light usually did was a bit too much for them to handle. It still didn't make the empath feel any better about herself. She turned to walk back to her room when Robin cleared his throat, signaling her to stay a little longer.

"The Tots will be arriving in a little while, they're spending the week. I assumed that'd it be alright by you."

Raven nodded with a small smile. It would be good to see them again, assuming she could fix herself before they arrived. Some meditation was in order, and possibly a trip to Nevermore as well, but first she owed someone her thanks. The empath gave a final nod at the Boy Wonder and glided off.

"Cyborg."

"What?" he replied.

"Fix her medication," Robin ordered as he began walking to the evidence room, "after you finish those reports."

"Aww dude," the changeling griped, "bummer," to which the tin man only nodded.

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><p><strong>Read &amp; review if you want to.<strong>


	4. Frozen Heat

**Thanks to everyone who's been reading/reviewing. I still don't own anything so don't get too excited there guys, and I'm talking to _you_ with that _briefcase_. Scram. **

**Ok, so things always have to get worse before they get better, but there will always be a period of calm before the storm. This is another one of those important plot developing chapters but do bare with me. The good stuff is coming I promise.**

**Sidenote, I am not in anyway a doctor so please do not EVER try any of these activities/remedies at home. **

**Thank you.**

* * *

><p>Raven made her way to the pink hex caster's room, taking the time required to walk rather than to risk her emotional balance with teleporting or using her "Azarathian Expess" as the green Titan liked to call it. The effects of her medication hadn't quiet worn off and she was wary to risk another episode out of laziness. Sloth was not becoming of an Azarathian, even a non conforming one. And <em>that<em> fiasco hadn't even been her fault, really.

With quiet footsteps and even quieter knocks the empath soon found herself ushered into the Jinx's room. At a glance, it rather reminded her of her own, if more bright and less "creepy," although in her opinion pink was a pretty scary color of its own. The grinning ex-thief extraordinaire sat on the edge of her bed and patted the space beside her. Raven looked nauseous at the thought but drew her hood down, her symbolic equivalent of being friendly.

"What'cha need dollface?" Jinx asked cheerfully, tilting her head to one side.

"Raven," the empath corrected in a small huff, but her face softened again and she fingered the gem connecting her cloak, "…I…wanted to…thank you, I guess. Yes. For earlier I mean."

"Oh that?" Jinx leaned back on her hands and offered a cheshire grin, "Well I thought that us being buddies an' all…"at Raven's warning glance turned her grin rather sheepish, "and you're welcome. Glad I could help."

Raven, satisfied that she no longer owed Jinx, turned to head back to her own room when she felt a tug on her cape. For the second time that day Raven turned to have a conversation continued. She would have been vexed if it hadn't have been for the girl's somber demeanor and slightly droopy hair.

"...What?"

"I know it's not really any of my business… and we did just get on the same train so to speak, but if we're going to be working together for awhile then maybe you can tell me just what happened out there earlier?" she asked hesitantly, with a hopeful sheen in her pink slitted eyes. She was really trying here, to make everything work, Raven realized for the first time. The little minx actually believed she could belong here. Perhaps she did. Who was _she_ to say otherwize? Still…

"I lost control of my powers," Raven replied in perfect monotone much to Jinx's dismay, "It won't happen again."

"Are you convincing me or yourself?" Jinx asked before she could stop herself. Raven's eyes widened and her face contorted with a small grimace before the demon teleported to her room. Jinx surveyed her empty room and collapsed on her bed. Pissing off Raven was not the way she had wanted to day to go. And it was only lunchtime. She sighed into her purple downy comforter and idly wondered if discovering who the "Tot Titans" were would be worth getting up for. Her comforter was rather comfy after all.

Raven landed in her room a few steps from her own bed, covered with a black downy comforter with light purple satin sheets underneath. She sighed and grabbed the bottle of pills she had left on her dresser and tossed them into the trash. Was it wasteful? Yes. Was it childish and immature? Yes. Would her mother have approved? Probably not. Did it make her feel better? Not really. But the sound it made as it hit the metal of the bin caused her mouth to upturn the tiniest bit.

She felt worn out and tired. And angry. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to punch something or pass out. She sighed, rubbed the bridge of her nose and hovered cross-legged above her bed, her arms wrapped around her middle. She had to meditate. Concentrate. Relax. It wouldn't do her kids any good to see her out of sorts. She slowed her breathing and assumed the proper lotus position and began reiterating her mantra.

_"…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…_"

While the two magically inclined Titans were up to their own devices, the others were in the Common Room, Super Boy beginning dinner with Cyborg heading the barbeque sauce department and Beast Boy for once paying more attention to his girlfriend than to the television or food. Ravager was, albeit unwillingly, playing a hand or two of the Titans favorite card game with Donna, Speedy, and Starfire, who seemed to be winning with her hand of elemental cards. Robin was at the door, ushering in the trio of young children that had joined the Titan's ranks a month or so after Raven's birthday.

"Wayuh's Way-Way?" asked the middle toddler, Timmy, who was still learning how to speak properly. he was holding a bright blue blanket that he often fought over with the youngest Tot for.

"Tommy, you're supposed to say hi to everybody," Melvin chided as Bobby pushed their bags through the door. He was too big to fit inside the Tower, but he still followed his manifester religiously. The youngest Tot, Teether crawled in beside her, pacifier securely in his mouth and promptly raised his arms at Robin in the universal toddler language of "I wish for you to pick me up now, my good fellow." The fearless leader sighed, children not really being his forte, but picked up the baby just the same and turned to face the on looking Titans.

After a round of introductions the New Titans and the Tot Titans were left to their own devices, which mostly consisted of the children asking obscene amounts of questions to the new members and Melvin pestering Ravager to try on her eye-patch. After a little while the children were distracted by Jinx, who had decided to grace them with her perpetually pink presence, and the children all but forgot the other older Titans, much to their collected relief. Jinx, who was particularly fond of children, grinned wholeheartedly at them and quickly accepted their attentions.

"Your hair is pink," Melvin stated, as if Jinx was unaware of this.

"Eeyup."

"You has kitty eyes," continued Timmy through the wet thumb he had stuffed in his mouth.

"Sure do," Jinx replied with a wink.

"Up," asked the youngest, to which the hex caster happily cuddled the baby. The small group soon took over the common room television, displaying classic kiddie movies across the gigantic screen to the relative dismay of the rest of the Titans, particularly Terra, as she was unable to drag Logan away from the screen. After which dinner was made and eaten, and the dishes were washed by Super girl when the fearless leader noticed that they hadn't already been taken care of. Then another movie, complete with popcorn this time, was viewed. The darkest Titan was still nowhere to be seen and the children wouldn't let the matter be pushed aside any longer. Raven was like a mother to them, and they were going to see her weather anyone liked it or not. Timmy had just begun to throw a tantrum when Starfire suggested that someone check on the empath. The children lit up immediately and rushed towards their new pink haired friend and began tugging her in the direction of Raven's room.

When they arrived however, the three stopped before the door and stared at it as if it had grown six heads and was currently taking a nap.

"What's wrong kiddo? Didn't you guys want to see her?" Jinx asked the oldest; honestly she had no idea how three fun loving children supposedly enjoyed spending time with the broody and moody empath, but she wasn't going to question it. Odds and luck and all that.

The children didn't reply and kept staring at the door. Jinx felt an odd shiver pass through her when she looked at it. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"…Hey, why don't you guys stay out here and let me go on in first, m'k?" Jinx suggested as she set the baby down. The children nodded somberly and silently watched as she walked into the dark room. Thankfully, Jinx's eye sight was rather catlike, so she could make out Raven's form on the bed rather easily. Was the psion asleep? Jinx crept closer to get a better look.

She was lying on her bed but her sleep, if it could be called that, seemed to be troubled. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and Jinx could make out the wisps of steam rising from her body. This was not good.

"Hey, Rae?" she asked, her voice soft but direct. Raven groaned with a coarse voice, and shifted a bit, but didn't wake.

The hex caster gently put a hand to the empath's temple, only to tear it away when the heat from Raven's body nearly burned her. Blowing on her hand to lessen the stinging Jinx looked around. She didn't know what temperature the girl was supposed to be, but two steps below "on fire" certainly was not the correct answer. That was when Raven began coughing harshly, as if she was trying to pass up a lung or two. Jinx wasted no more time making a beeline towards the hallway.

"Melvin, go get Robin and the others, Raven's sick," Jinx ordered softy.

The imaginative lass nodded and ran towards the common room while Jinx picked up the remaining two children and set them further down the hall. It wouldn't do to have them underfoot and accidentally ran over. Once they were safely out of harm's way, the pink sorceress ran back to Raven, who was spasming violently. Robin and Cyborg were the first to burst in through the empath's door, and the masked leader immediately turned on the lights, which caused the resident demoness to shriek in agony.

"What the hell is going on?" Robin yelled over his friend's screaming.

Jinx could only shake her head and cast worried glances at the flailing Titan, "Cut the lights for fuck's sake!"

Vexed, the leader turned to Cyborg, "what the hell is wrong with her?" he asked as Cyborg scanned her; the bedroom's lights still on full.

"Man she's burning up fast and I mean _burning_," he answered, worry flooding his voice, "Somebody turn on the tub. Like _now_. On _cold_," he hollered as he picked up his sisterly companion, who was still screaming, and nearly flew out of the room and down the hall, beaten by Starfire who intended to fill up the nearest tub with water. The others followed closely behind with grim expressions.

Super Boy got the bathroom door and held it open for the metal man to get through; the plastic in his arms was just beginning to melt from the heat of Raven's body. She was still flailing madly and he had to pin her to his chest to keep from dropping her. He hurriedly released the empath into the tub and narrowly avoided a scratch to the face. In the harsh lights of the bathroom the bright red pigment in Raven's skin was heart chilling.

"_We need ice, stat_!" Robin shouted and the Two Super Teens flew off to retrieve said element, "Star, Donna!" he ordered, the two snapping to attention, "hold her down, she needs to be _in_ the water to cool off." The two nodded and tried their best to keep the demonling submerged, getting quite wet themselves in the process. Cyborg ran to get the infirmary ready while Jinx grabbed a curious Melvin and shooed her to look after the other children who were hovering beside Ravager. The Super Siblings returned with the ice and Jinx opened the door for them, using a hex bolt to _keep_ it opened. She made her way over to the tub to find the water rapidly evaporating as it came into contact with Raven's skin. Starfire managed to turn the water on full as Kon-El and Kara dumped their ice into the tub.

Raven began hissing and choked as her body naturally tried to find oxygen but was met with liquid instead. Ignoring the sting of the frigid water and the burn of Raven's flesh, Jinx slipped into the tub and held her partner's head in her lap, struggling to allow Raven's face to be above water while the other two Titan's struggled to keep the rest of her body in it. A few more rounds of ice were dumped into the tub and the empath began to calm down until she was practically still in the water and her skin slowly started to return to its natural pallid color. Starfire and Donna released their grips and caught their breath as they stood back. Cyborg had the infirmary ready, but neither he nor Robin wanted to move Raven until the redness completely vanished.

Jinx continued to hold up the empath's head just above the water's surface. She was staring at the faint ripples in the water to convince herself that she wasn't holding a dead body. After a few more deathly silent moments, when Jinx was positive someone dropped a pin just to hear it, Raven's eyes snapped open in a manner that would put most horror stories to shame. Jinx, startled, retreated to the edge of the tub and Raven completely submerged herself into the icy water, her eyes shut tight and holding her breath. When she couldn't hold it in anymore she sat up suddenly and sputtered as she began to shiver, her human side protesting against the extreme cold. She sneezed a few times and the team began to relax. Jinx wrapped her arms around the now quaking psion, and Raven, still rather out of it, relaxed into the backwards embrace.

"I shall fetch the towels," Star announced, and the other Titans began to disperse, the call for action becoming dull, leaving only a cold curiosity in its wake.

"She'll need to be taken to the infirmary," Richard ordered.

Cyborg nodded. His melted coating could wait; after all, this was his little sister in need after all. Not by blood of course, but in the course of their history he found Raven to fit the role perfectly. He walked over to the tub where Jinx was using her own body weight to help support Raven as she got out of the tub. Taking the offered towel from Starfire he wrapped the violet eyed girl up and scooped her back into his arms. He found it almost amusing at how little the psion seemed all of a sudden.

"I'll run a few tests and keep the monitors on her for awhile," he directed at the masked wonder who only nodded in reply.

The Tamaranean flew beside him, ready to open doors or fetch the next required item, eager to assist in the recovery of her friend. Robin watched the entourage until they hit the bend in the corridor and sighed. Why couldn't things ever go easy? He puffed indignantly and took a look around the battlefielded bathroom.

"Come on guys. This mess won't fix itself."

Kon-El and Kara looked at each other before shrugging and they each grabbed some towels from the rack. Donna set about to find a mop. Jinx watched as the team began their recovery mode and sighed. She caught the glare Rose threw at her and she resisted the urge to chuckle.

"Hey Blunder Boy," she tossed at the fearless leader whom was currently trying not to slip on the spilled ice, he looked up and his mask twitched at the nickname; "I'ma take care of the kids. They seemed kinda upset. That all right?

He nodded understandingly and motioned for Ravager to join in on the bathroom brigade. Rose tossed the hex caster a nod of thanks and the cat eyed mage slipped out the door and into the hall. She found the three Tots huddled on the other side of the corridor with wide wet eyes and trembling lips. They had been understandably scared by the sight of seeing their maternal figure screaming and thrashing as she was forced into a tub of water. Jinx felt a little coddling was in order.

"Hey now," she cooed, kneeling in front of them, "Everything's all right now."

"B-but R-Raven wass'all…" the oldest stuttered.

"She's okay Melvin," she replied, running her fingers through the little blonde's hair, "I promise you, she's going to be just fine."

"Pwa-mise?" piped the smallest Tot.

Jinx nodded, "In fact," she said as she stood up, "Why don't we go visit her in the med bay? She'll be tired but I'm sure Cyborg will'et us in if we ask nicely. What'cha think, mmm?"

The children's faces quickly brightened and their eyes filled with carefree eagerness. They picked themselves up and grabbed at the hex caster, intending to drag the witch all the way to the infirmary if they had to.

"Hey now, wait one sec guys."

The children looked up at her confused.

"I can't go in all wet. Why don't you three head on in and I'll catch on up when I'm in something more dry?"

The children nodded and rushed off, leaving the hex mage to her own devices. Jinx cast a look at herself and sighed. Her hands hurt like the devil and her thighs hurt like a bitch. Was she bleeding? No no, false alarm. The heat must have cauterized the wounds. She shook her head, causing her horns to sway a bit. They were actually sogged down and hanging limply from her head. It was disgraceful. When the empath was better again she owed her. With a smirk she trotted to her room and threw open her closet. In the short amount of time she had been part of the titans, she hadn't had time to acquire much of a wardrobe. She hoped the other titans believed in casual wear, she only had so many "uniforms" to spare.

She shlugged off the wet clothes, shook herself a bit and wrung out her hair until happily bounced back to its near permanent horn like state. A clean pair of jeans, a mildly dirty reinforced tank top, and the least dirty pair of undies that she could find later and the cat eyed girl was standing in the medbay, leaning against the bed and watching the three sleeping children and one possibly unconscious demidemon intently. Cyborg was hovering over the various monitors and scanners, worriedly checking them all in an endlessly repeated cycle. Eventually it was enough to make Jinx dizzy.

"Hey."

Cyborg looked up at her with a start, his mechanical eye taking a second to readjust and focus on her.

"She gonna be okay?"

The Tin man scratched his head and swore under his breath before answering her, "I don't know Jinxycat. I can't figure out what went wrong for the life of me. I mean, I _know_ what happened -everyone _saw_ what happened…but I don't know what _caused_ it. Or how to stop it from happenin' again," he trailed off and looked at the sleeping psion before looking at the monitors, "her charts seem t'all be fine. Her mental activity is incalculable but that's kinda always how it is with her…" He swore again and huffed, his arms folded across his chest.

Jinx nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. It was odd, she thought, that just a few mere moments ago the dark Titan had been in her lap, chaotic and in pain, and yet here she was, three children snuggled up against her, and she looked as if nothing in the universe could touch her if she simply didn't will it so. It was almost laughable, in a scary sort of way. The hex witch took the liberty of brushing a few stray hairs from the empath's face, only to have the pison's eyes flutter open softly. A smile unknowingly stretched across the mage's face.

"Heya dollface. How'ya feelin?" she asked quietly, her fingers still gently brushing the violet locks from her partner's face. Cyborg, surprised by Raven awakening quickly trodded over, relieved.

The empath closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the Tots cuddled against her and the soft, almost caress like motions of Jinx's fingers. She opened them again a few seconds later and replied, "tired…'little sore…" her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of Jinx's other hand, "what happened?" she asked with a nod.

"You were heaten' up pretty bad Rae," Cyborg interrupted, and Raven turned her head to see him, "Like scary hot. And I don't mean in the wet t-shirt way neither," he added jokingly.

"Aww I don't know Lug-nut, Ravie certainly looked placeable to me…" Jinx retorted before giggling.

Raven wasn't as amused and glared at the pair, "All right you two, know it off," she grumbled. All of the noise had caused the children to wake up and Raven had to scoot Teether to her lap in order to sit up and avoid being crawled over. Melvin and Tommy stayed glued to her side, yawning and mumbling softly.

"I'll take 'em to their rooms in a minute Rae, but I promised 'em they could say hi to you first," Jinx explained. The psion nodded as Melvin gave a groggy yawn.

"It's far past your bedtime missy," Raven chided gently, ruffling the child's hair.

"And it's far past the time for explanations, so start talking," came Logan's voice as he and a few others trickled in; "I mean, dude. You were like screaming our ears off an-"

He was interrupted by another of Terra's well placed elbows. The psion decided that she would have to get the earth bender to teach her the technique at some point. The thought brought a small smile to her lips. It vanished just as quickly as the Boy Wonder sat on the bed beside her.

"You ok?"

"…I think so… For now anyway…"

"Ya got any idea what was wrong?" he asked to Raven as much to anyone else.

Raven cast a glance at Cyborg who shook his head and then at Jinx who offered her a small smile. The demidemon sighed and looked at the sleepy baby in her lap.

"I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you," she replied quietly, her voice still hoarse from all of her screaming earlier. She expected that the boy beside her would get angry, and that he would start telling her pull herself together for the better of the city and other such lectures that she had heard before, so when instead she felt his arm draw her close without a word she couldn't help herself as her emotions completed their catharsis. She had missed Robin greatly, and was glad that if only for a moment, she had her most trusted brother back. With a few tears in his brightly colored chest and only one broken lightbulb the moment ended and Dick Grayson was back to being all about order and business.

"Raven, I want you to stay inside for a few days. I'd say a week or two but I know you wouldn't listen to me anyway. That's why I also want you under constant supervison, I mean it Rae, and don't give me that look. You were lucky today that Jinx came and found you. I don't even want to think about what would have happened had we lost you. Now I want you to spend the night in the bay and Star will look after the kids tonight. I'll have Cyborg set up the TV in the common room and you can spend tomorrow with them;" Robin paused and turned to look at Jinx, "You seem to have the best luck for when it comes to dealing with Raven. I want you to stay and keep an eye on her. You need to do something or go somewhere on your own then call me, I'll have one of the others spot your place for a little while. Cyborg," he added, "I know it's asking a lot but if you could keep looking for anything that might give us some clues I'd be grateful. I'm going to keep tabs on the city tonight and I want everyone one else rested up for tomorrow. If this was some kind of ploy or distraction then I want everyone on the top of their game to meet this head on. Am I clear?"

A chorus of agreements and nods sprang up from the other Titans. Jinx cast a look at Raven who only nodded at her, already resigned to her fate with a dignified grace. This was going to be an interesting few days, the hex caster mused.

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><p><strong>Way to go reader, you made it through another chapter. I'm so proud. <strong>

**So that was quite the adventure, eh? Poor Raven. It's never fun being dunked in a tub of ice water. Neither is burning up. *shrugs* But I promise the character abuse was necessary because of reasons. Also, now Jinx and Raven can mingle a bit more. Which I'm sure is the reason you're all here in the first place.  
><strong>

**And that means you'll probably love the next chapter.  
><strong>

**Read & Review if you want to.**

**:) **


	5. Burns and Unicorns

**Never expect the sudden demony fever! Mwaha hahaha. **

**Anyway. Here as promised. Jinx and Raven actually start to get to know each other. Featuring a healthy dose of the Tot Titans to boot. **

**I own nothing, please don't sue, but if you like my story you can read & review!**

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><p>True to their words life in Titans Tower commenced according to Wonder Boy's orders. After the others left the medbay Raven slipped back into a deep sleep, the Tots, who were quickly ushered into their bed soon joined her in oblivion. The next morning was quiet; as the empath awoke earlier than the others, and she quietly disconnected herself from the various machines and turned them all off with a wave of her power. She readjusted the hospital gown that she couldn't recall putting own, and tapped the pink hex caster who had fallen asleep on the bed closest to hers.<p>

"Mrrrhpfsh?" came the mumbled groggy reply.

"I'm going to my room to change. I think it'll be okay for you to meet me in the common room," said Raven quietly before she started walking to the exit. She turned back to see the magelet stretching languidly. Raven continued walking to her room and shut the door softly. Her body was still a bit sore and she would have to meditate at some point she knew, hopefully she'd be able to manage a bit of breakfast first, assuming she was lucky enough to keep anything down. No sense in pushing her body faster than it would go after all. She groaned internally as she slid out of the gown and set it in her hamper. Eyeing the stack inside it, she figured she would be doing laundry within the week. With a nod she turned to her dresser and pulled out some clean and neatly folded clothes, all ironed, pressed, and ready to go. Figuring that a day in the tower allowed for a little relaxation she slipped into her favorite pair of panties and then into some comfy dark blue jean shorts that sported fashionable suspenders. It had been one of her few favored purchases from the mall outings with the Tamaranean princess. Unfortunately her favorite bra was in the hamper but she made due with one of her other ones and fiddled with the straps until she was sure they were sitting right. She opted for grey cotton button down shirt as it sported a hood, even though it didn't have any sleeves. After slipping the short's straps over her shoulders she opened another drawer and pulled out a pair of well worn dark grey fingerless gloves. She opened a final drawer a fished out a pair socks and slipped them.

She looked into the mirror above her dresser and gave it a little twirl. She looked alright enough she supposed. It was always so much easier seeing what looked best on other people, she thought with a sigh. As an afterthought she grabbed her uniforms belt and clipped her comm. unit on for good measure. One could never be too careful after all.

She used her "Azarathian Express" to arrive in the common room and was greeted to the smell of _pancakes_ and dare she say it, _eggs and bacon_? Normally in the morning the changeling and Cyborg had the kitchen so messy and filled with different things you couldn't tell exactly what was being cooked. She swallowed her surprise and walked over to the barstools where she found three delighted children. A subconscious smile swept across her face.

"Hi wavie!" trilled the middle Tot, waving at her excitedly. Melvin and Teether also seemed to look pretty chipper. She gave them each a kiss hello and looked up when the sound of whistling was heard over the sizzling of bacon.

Jinx was standing in front of the stove, spatula in one hand, with an apron wrapped around the same tired outfit she had slept in. she was happily cooking away and gave the empath a sunny smile when she noticed the psion's attention directed at her.

"Mornin' sunshine," she sang happily, piling the perfectly done bacon onto a platter, "hope ya'll like your bacon kinda crunchy," she added to the kids who nodded happily. She set the platter down and turned to flip the pancakes. Without thinking, Raven walked over to the fridge and pulled out the jug of milk while grabbing a few cups from the cupboard with her powers. She walked back and set down the drinks, using a black tendril to replace the milk jug and to shut the door as she began fixing everyone's plate, even remembering to teleport one to Bobby outside. After a few minutes Jinx added a platter of pancakes and one of eggs. Raven took the job of convincing Teether to eat the food rather than the cutlery and Jinx entertained the other two with silly faces and a few good natured jokes. Some of which even Raven found humorous to her own surprise.

After they finished Raven began clearing the dishes, intent on cleaning them, but Jinx interrupted her.

"Look Dollface, they've been waiting to play with you. I got this, you go on," said mage, her grin light and her shove playful. Raven, a little taken aback, turned to do as Jinx had insisted and an odd feeling passed over her. Ever sense her father's fall from power she had been doing most of the housework as it were -doing the dishes after every meal, offering rides back from battles with her powers, voluntarily doing the laundry or finishing any paperwork her leader didn't- all in the hopes of both providing an outlet for her growing powers and as a way to make up for the horrors she had caused. The others, weather they recognized the reasons of her behaviors or not had never interrupted her new norm and had almost come to expect her to continue the behavior, after all, if the demonling _wanted_ to do the dishes everyday, who were they to argue? Especially as they all had other equally important problems to worry about. Still she thought, the sentiment in Jinx's actions was a rather touching one, even if it had been mostly accidental.

Raven sat down with the children and they fluttered around her, each wanted all of her attention and each wanted to do something different. Raven used her powers to summon forth a small mountain of crayons and a healthy stack of paper. The children chirped in delight as they all sprawled out on the common room floor in front of the couch and began their own creations. Raven, long accustomed to playing along, grabbed a sheet or two for herself and selected a dark green crayon from the pile and began doodling ancient Azarathian hieroglyphics, mostly to make sure she still remembered them, and hummed internally as she listened to her children chatter about whatever crossed their minds, nodding on occasion or responding from time to time when appropriate.

Jinx watched the little group from afar as she finished washing the last of the dishes. It was so odd, seeing arguably one of, if not the most, dangerous person on the physical plane contentedly coloring alongside three carefree toddlers. She didn't question it though, odds and luck and all that. Instead she turned to start putting the dishes away and wandered over to the group when she was finished, pausing long enough only to fling the apron onto the floor in the general vicinity of the actual apron hook.

"Anyone got a paper for me?"

Happily, Melvin handed over a sheet with minimal crayon marks and gave her an only slightly chewed up purple crayon. Jinx tossed her a smile and a thanks, and began doodling a rather fat unicorn on a rainbow trail.

"Hey Jinx, what'cha draw'in?" asked the oldest tot, who had paused her rendition of Bobby long enough to peek at the hex caster's paper.

"A blue purdy unicorn dancing on a rainbow," Jinx answered quite matter'o'factly. Raven gave her a raised eyebrow and continued on with her glyphs.

"But that's not blue," the imaginer replied taken aback. How could a grown up not know their colors?

Jinx paused a moment and gave the girl a playful push, causing Melvin to giggle before explaining, "Sometimes what we think is something, is really something else."

Melvin looked at her inquisitively, expecting further detail. Jinx cast a look at the violet eyed empath only to receive a nod to continue by all means. The hex witch cleared her throat and tried to put her meaning as simply as possible.

"Well, think about water for a second."

"Water?" Melvin repeated, not at all sure that Jinx was going to make sense.

"Yeah, you see, water can also be ice. Or even steam."

"But what's that gotta do with blue unicorns bein purple?"

"Maybe he isn't purple. Watch," and with that, the mage grabbed a few different shades of blue and proceeded to color in the unicorn until the purple just seemed like the darkest shade before continuing her explination, "See? He's all blue now. Like water turning into ice."

Melvin smiled, happy with the explanation and went back to coloring in doodle-Bobby, even thought she still thought the pink haired Titan was a little weird.

"Nice save," replied the psion, who didn't bother to look up for her project.

Jinx gave her the most mature and well thought out response any Titan had ever come up with; she stuck out her tongue, causing the children to giggle. It even earned a little smirk from the empath herself which Jinx figured added a few to her tally score if anyone was bothering to keep count anymore.

"Do you know where the others are?" Raven asked absent mindedly. She had finished her glyphs and had decided to begin on her runes for good measure. She reached for another color and caught a slightly crooked red.

"Some of 'em are on patrol. I think the BlondieBeast went out for the day. Something about her needing some time alone with the Green Bean and him needing a copy of 'Monkey Ball Ninja 3' or whatever the hell the game was," she winced apologetically at the slightly harsh language when Raven shot her a warning glare; "…I think Cyborg's asleep. He had a long night...with, well you know. Haven't seen his royal highness since last night either. No idea what he's up to. I doubt Star's not too far behind him on whatever it is he's doing though. I think that's about everyone off the top of my head."

The group continued to color, Raven pausing her work now and then to stop a certain baby from eating the colorful sticks of wax. Eventually though, the kids grew bored with their activity, as the empath knew they would and as the dark Titan began cleaning up they began chattering excitedly once more.

"Can we go on'a picnic?"

"Stow'wy!"

"Can Bobby come?"

"Pas!"

"Teether wats'ta see a movie!"

"Stow'wy! Stow'wy! Stow'wy!"

"_Raveeeeeen!_"

"I'll tell you a story."

The three children stopped and looked at their pink haired companion who had interrupted their collective cries for attention.

"Pas?" asked the youngest.

Jinx looked at the oldest expectantly for explanation.

"He wants his binky."

Jinx nodded and began to search for it, only to be stopped by Raven, who pulled the thing out of only-the-Devil-knew-what-dimension, and passed it to the baby before resuming cleanup duty. She gave a nod at the hex caster, signaling her to keep the children entertained until she was finished. Jinx sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. What kind of story did little kids like anyway? Growing up on the streets she had missed out on a lot of important child development tools; common knowledge stories being one of them, especially as she had been born in a place with completely different ones and the H.I.V.E. hadn't really big on nursery rhymes. There was one about a teapot, she thought, and it had a mouse –no wait, that was the one with the clock wasn't it? Or was it the butcher's wife? But didn't one of them have muffins in there? Damn those stories were rhymes too and she'd be damned if she could remember them-

"Why don't you tell them _your_ story," the empath offered in her smooth monotone. She had finished cleaning and was leaning against the couch, Teether in her lap, happily sucking on his Binky. She was looking at the hex witch rather expectantly, though her lips also held a small smirk. She continued lounging there, as if she were as regal as a queen on her perch.

Jinx smirked and cleared her throat, "My story, huh?" she replied, looking at the three little eager faces before her, "Ok. Mind you it's not finished yet. But I'll tell you how it goes so far," she continued, sitting down on crossed legs using her best dramatic voice, "Once a long time ago, in a city on the other side of the ocean, a little baby was born with strange special powers;" the children watched her intently, hanging onto her every word; "and these powers caused bad things to happen sometimes and so the city didn't like her much at all and they chased her away," she exclaimed dramatically, eliciting gasps from the children, "and they wouldn't let anyone be my friend either," she added, for emphasis. In reality, the truth had been harsher. More scary. Filled with hushed whispers, frantic running, and terribly cold nights. But the Tots didn't need to know that. So she continued… "Then I traveled all the way across the ocean, and I woke up in the city and made a few friends."

Actually it hadn't really happened that way; there had been a man in a mask and sack over her head. She had also woken up to see firsthand the inside a slaver ring, which for the record, was _not_ a site that should be put into _any_ brochure. She thanked the gods almost every day that Mammoth and Shimmer had been there, otherwise she might never have been able to escape. Again, she didn't feel the need to give the kids those certain details. She inhaled a deep breath to continue but caught a strange look in the dark Titans eyes. She looked far too grim. She hadn't said anything bad really, had she? She asked herself, scanning the selective details she had revealed. No, it had all be quite tame. So why did the empath look as if she was so displeased?

Suddenly, Jinx sat quite stiff and simply just stared at Raven. Her eyes intending to bore holes into Raven's skull.

_You're reading my mind, aren't you? _She asked silently, almost drilling the question into Raven's head through the sheer intensity of her stare.

"You're emotional state is fluctuating heavily. I pick up on that sort of thing. I can influence your thoughts, if I try hard enough, by tampering with your emotions, but no, I cannot _read_ your thoughts. That would take a mental connection and probably a few physical bonds. Or at the very least actual effort on my part."

"Then how did you know what I was thinking?" Jinx accused, her finger waging in the psion's face.

"Because," she replied, nuzzling her baby, "I've been accused of such things before. I know that look. A few other looks too;" she glanced back up at the pink haired Titan, "if it would set your mind at ease…I suppose I could establish a mental link with you."

"Mental link? As in telepathy?"

Raven nodded, "It's more of an assortment of feelings and concepts then actual words, but the others have assured me that once established, the paranoia associated with me and mind reading becomes minimal."

Jinx tilted her head, mulling it over. Brother Blood had done some pretty damn freaky shit with his mind control back at the H.I.V.E. The things she had seen happen to fellow students had been enough to make even her old pal Mammy blow chunks. Of course Raven was on the good side, even if she was a little on the enigma line. Then again it would be her head Raven would be tampering with…but they were also supposed to be partners in crime so to speak. Having a mental connection could theoretically come quite in handy. Odds and luck and all that.

Raven, sensing her indecision like a temperature change, offered another piece of information, "I'm not a true mind reader. The mental connection is the closest thing to it I can get without dabbling into my father's territory. However, through the connection, I can teach you how to block true mind readers out. After all, if _I_ can pick up anything off of you, you can only imagine what a _true_ mind bender could attain…"

"Alrighty then Sunny, sign me up," the hex witch applied. The thought of blocking everything like Brother Blood out of her head for good was too good to pass up. The things she had watched that man do... She shivered. She wouldn't ever admit it but she, Mammoth, and the Giz had spent days in their safehouse, huddled together in silence, afraid of simply existing once they had escaped. She still had nightmares sometimes. She shivered again.

"Stow'wy?"

Jinx looked at the redhead and snapped herself out of her train of thoughts. She put a smile on her face and nodded, intending to finish her child friendly rendition of her life. When she had finished the children were momentarily satisfied and Raven gave her an understanding nod. Jinx wondered what kind of childhood the empath must have had, and decided to ask her about it while she searched for a movie.

The dark Titan smiled softly and only replied that she hadn't had one, and resumed her task before selecting one of the children's favorites. Jinx decided not to press her further. After all, so far things had been going rather well. Then again, that was most likely due to the fact that the three Tot Titans were there. Robin had told her explicitly that Raven always seemed to be at her best when they were around, and taking in all of the time Jinx had known Raven, she actually found herself considering it being true. Of course, that was excluding the time she had spent working on the other side. The game had been different for everyone back then. She smiled softly, remembering the good bad 'ol days when she and the gang would rob a store or two. More often than not it was to actually pay their rent or _school tuition_ rather than for fun, but nobody ever needed to know that. Assuming they didn't already, which they probably did.

Ever sense she had switched sides she was certain some of the Titans had been practically force feeding her for instance; she had once been a scary thin wraith of a girl. The dark Titan herself had once commented on it during their many fights. They also gave the mage her own little bathroom, shower and all. Other normalities that most people took for granted like a bookshelf and her own little radio were also issued to her. The small TV had been a gift from Cyborg and Starfire had taken the liberty for shopping for her when they had first hung out.

It was almost sad really.

All the effort they put into making her comfortable. Here she was, an ex-con sitting in the living room of one of the most prestigious crime fighting factions in the states, and she was getting worked up over radios and bedrooms. It was pathetic. How far had she fallen from her old top of the world self? True, that self masked a lot of sad memories and pain, but it was the self she had tried so hard for so long to maintain. She clenched her fists and shut her eyes, as if to block out the stream of bad thoughts plaguing her brain. She was just beginning to curse herself for existing in the first place when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and turned to see Raven looking at her with concern written all across her ivory face. The empath gave her arm a light squeeze, her equivalent of a hug, and went so far as to offer her a small hopeful smile.

Jinx took a deep breath and exhaled. She repeated the process a few times before relaxing. She offered her partner a sheepish grin and returned her attention to the playing movie. The rest of the day passed pretty uneventfully, the two magically inclined girls looked after the Tots and Jinx got to watch firsthand how Melvin's powers worked during her lesson. She noted that Raven was both strict but motivational, providing the imaginative lass with both constructive criticism and praise where needed. She would have been a big hit at the H.I.V.E. she had thought to herself, grinning as she imagined Raven in a teacher's outfit complete with short skirt and one of those wooden impaling/pointer sticks. A few times they ran into the other Titans around the tower, and everyone seemed rather on edge around the empath, as if she were going to either drop dead at any moment or snap and start devouring people. Raven shrugged it off despite Jinx's words of consolation. Eventually the Tots tuckered themselves out and had to be put to bed.

Watching Raven tuck the little monsters into bed was probably the most tender thing the hex witch had ever seen. The bedtime story, the promises of what awaited them tomorrow, the way she gently pulled the covers over them, and the goodnight kisses. It made a small warm feeling inside of the witch. She idly wondered if someone had been there to do those things for her, if her life would have turned out differently. Still, the sight brought an ear to ear grin to her face that she couldn't help and when Raven walked towards the doorway to get the light she caught sight of Jinx's look and blushed a little before flicking the switch.

"…Not a word of this to anyone. Not a word."

"Whatever you say dollface."

The two continued down the hallway, pausing when they began considering their options. It wasn't time for lights out and they both still had a little energy to burn. The two mages looked at each other, each silently thinking of what they could possibly convince the other to do. After a few seconds the pink eyed hex caster grinned.

"Wanna do that mind thingy?"

"…The mere words used to construct your previous statement makes me feel almost obligated to refuse out of my own personal best self-interests."

"Aww come on Ravie. I'll let ya know all my juiciest escapades! Just think, we'd be like besties! Twinsies even! When one of us gets into trouble-"

"The other will surely be blamed by association," the dark Titan sighed, but she _had _offered. And she always kept her word, if nothing else could be said of her, she _always _kept her word.

"Fine," she relented, "but we're doing this in my room."

"So formal, and yet no drinks first? I'd say that's a bit forward my dearest Broody Bird," teased the hexcaster, giving the empath a wink. Raven shot her a look and the mage burst into a fit of giggles, which only caused the empath to glare a bit harder. Her eyes were filled with mirth however, so Jinx assumed she hadn't screwed up yet.

They arrived at Raven's room almost momentary, and the empath motioned for the pesky imp to go first. She shut the door behind them and Jinx took a good look around; the hex flinging witch hadn't allowed herself to do since she had overtaken the Tower with her old team. As she glanced around she realized that the empath's room hadn't really changed, even though it wasn't quite the same. Stability, the meta realized. Raven's room was the root of her self. Any excess damage or changes to it would probably lead to problems with her emotional or even mental state.

"Good guess."

"I thought you said you couldn't read my head?" she sputtered in shock.

"I didn't. You said that aloud. And something about your past that I didn't quite catch."

Jinx grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck as an opt out for responding. Raven smirked before walking over to her bed and patting the space beside her. Jinx sombered up and walked over. Before she sat down she paused and began to fidget.

"Is this going to hurt?"

"Not if you remain willing."

Jinx's face lost a bit of color. Raven sighed, realizing what that had probably sounded like, and gently tugged Jinx onto the bed.

"Look, I'm not trying to be…_creepy_ or…_mean_…" she began, not quite sure of what it was she was trying to get across, "and I'm not Brother Blood. I would never do any of the things that _horrible_ excuse of a man did. The fact that I was bound to him for the short time that I was…" Raven shook her head and sighed, clearing her voice of the anger that had seeped through, "I only want to help. I…I owe you that much."

Jinx stared at her for a moment, her head cocked to one side; "What do you owe me for exactly?"

It was Raven's turn to fidget, and it annoyed her. She would really have to meditate again if this kept up. What annoyed her more was the fact that she didn't know how she wanted to answer her companion's question. What _did_ she owe Jinx? The day they had spent together had been an enforced truce. One did not fight their battles with children to be caught in the crossfire. And yet…she hadn't felt any underlying tension. Not from the pink eyed metahuman at any rate. The others were once again tiptoeing around her, but she had become quite used to that. So why did she feel the need connect with the hex caster? Was she so…desperate for something to cling to that she would cling to a fragile string only recently fastened over troubled waters?

The water. The tub.

The memory of the night prior came flooding back to her. Raven glanced at Jinx and without warning snatched the extheif's hands, catching the girl by surprise. The empath peeled back the witch's sleeves and with her powers removed the bandages around them, causing the meta to hiss through clenched teeth.

"I hurt you when you were trying to help."

"It wasn't anything big. I mean it. The burns I mean. The helping you part was big. In case you need clarification," Jinx babbled, redirecting the unexpected pain into a stream of words, much like she used to do in her fights.

Raven gently rubbed her thumbs over the burns. Without another thought she used her powers to heal the wounds. Causing a small sigh of relief to escape from Jinx's lips.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Like I said Ravie, it was nothing big," she replied marveling at her now painfree hands.

"Did I burn you anywhere else?"

"My legs actually," Jinx stated, "but you should really save your strength ya know. Heal yourself up and all that. Whatever it was that hit you yesterday was really something after all."

"My powers are near limitless, they come from emotions, both from my own and from others. I've no need to ever actively replenish them," Raven tilted her head slightly, "how did I burn your legs?"

"Had you in my lap so you wouldn't drown."

Raven nodded dropped Jinx's hands, moving her own over her partner's legs, hovering them there as a way of asking for permission. Jinx straightened her legs out.

"You actually burned pretty deep. But I guess the heat seared the flesh up real good cause I didn't start to bleed till later. Found some bandages in the medbay and some creamstuff that said it was for burns. I kinda figured I'd just tough it out…"

Raven nodded and looked at the meta's pants before looking back at her.

"Ya know Rae, if you wanted me out of my clothes so bad, all ya had to due was ask," the meta teased. Raven smiled, the strange tension broken and used her powers to remove both pants and bandages. The burns were worse than what Raven had expected from Jinx's brief description.

"How did you manage to move at all today?"

"Pain is a signal from your body to your brain. I just mess with the message and keep trudging through. Odds and chances and stuff like that. -I've had much worse trust me," she chided.

"Impressive," Raven replied, causing Jinx to smile, "but incredibly stupid," she finished, deflating Jinx's ego with a smirk.

"Well excuse me if I didn't know there was a resident healer in the house…" she muttered.

Raven chuckled and ran her hands above the burns, slowly pulling the heat from the skin and tissue before going back over to repair the damage of the actual burn, messaging her power deep into the muscles and tissues to just make sure everything was going to be in perfect condition. The tingling sensation from Raven's powers caused the hex caster to giggle before the healing was complete. As Raven's powers retreated Jinx couldn't help but miss the odd comforting coolness that it had. Excited she bent her legs a few times, gave them a few swishes and one high kick for good measure before turning to the empath and smiling.

Her smile slipped though when she saw Raven clutching her own legs.

"You okay Dollface?"

Raven nodded slowly, massaging her thighs.

"I get it. You take the pain of whatever you heal."

Raven nodded again.

"But healing is white magic, there shouldn't be a toll."

"Normally, there wouldn't be, the healer would just get varying degrees of exhaustion depending on the injury and condition of the patient. I'm half demon however, and so even my white magics are demonically tainted. I can't help it. Every spell that I use or cast has a cost, and I take each repercussion fully knowing what the consequences will be."

"So you fixed me fully knowing that you'd hurt like hell?"

Raven nodded again.

"Baka," Jinx shouted, giving the psion a shove and pinning her to the bed beneath her, "I bet you never told anyone else about it either?"

Raven didn't answer but the look on her face provided Jinx with all she needed. She huffed and rolled over until she was on her back. The two looked up at the ceiling in companionable silence for a few moments.

"Thanks for patching me up Rae."

"…Thanks for saving me…Kitty."

"Oh, you so did not just-"

"Oh, but I did…"

In the morning, the two would claim the wayward feathers and broken light bulbs were completely coincidental and had absolutely nothing to do with their pillow fight in the slightest. Unfortunately, the fearless leader was not so easily convinced and the pair spent the next day cleaning up stray feathers and broken glass. It didn't bother either of them in the slightest however, and they continued to shoot each other glances that dared the other on. The other Titan's seeing Raven's almost happy attitude were almost at ease once more, and Jinx was certain that they'd be completely fine with the empath again if only that _blasted_ demidemon would stop _giggling_ so much.

The next few days continued much as the first, except the longer Raven stayed inside of the Tower the more fidgety she seemed to become. This surprised Jinx, as she had thought the dark Titan capable of immortal immobility at her discretion. Every time the Titan's alarm would go off Raven was pulled away from whatever she had been doing and she seemed to space out, as if she was wrapped inside her own little world. She well as could have been, Jinx reasoned.

However no matter how much pleading the psion participated in, her requests to rejoin in the action were still under current termination. The others of course offered their condolences or jealousies but the sentiments did nothing to alleviate the situation. Raven supposed it was for the best, she admitted to herself. After all, her headaches had returned and she still didn't have a cure. It was only a matter of time before her kids added to the problem rather than nullify it. It was that thought that scared her the most. If anything ever happened to those children, especially if it had been by her hand, she wouldn't want to live with herself anymore. Not that she liked herself much anyways mind you; pride was never acceptable after all.

As raven began to draw within herself, Jinx began to grow worried. The empath was starting to get snarkier, her jokes laced with dry wit and cynicism, and her span of patience grew shorter and shorter, causing her to lash out at things. The others told her that _this_ was the _normal_ Raven. The one that they were glad to have back. Better the devil you know than the devil that you didn't. Jinx wasn't so easily convinced, but she didn't want to get on anyone's nerves. Especially Raven's.

Which may have been why she began finding herself taking Raven's side in many of her arguments. Or perhaps it was more along the lines of, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. It seemed that the empath had grown used to Jinx's presence in an extremely short span of time, much to Beast Boy's irk, after all, it had taken him tree years to get Raven used to him. The hex caster was certain that it was only due to Raven being cut off from everyone else, and she was certain the demonling would push her aside once the Boy Wonder gave the all clear.

But for now, the two stayed relatively together with little fuss, and in fact, grew slightly paranoid if they weren't around each other for too long. Well, in Raven's case, it was more possessive than paranoid. Jinx would never forget the look of sheer loathing that the empath shot at Terra when the earthbender invited her for ice cream. It was a look that clearly stated "she's my toy go get your own before I rip your fucking head off grrrrr." -Respectively speaking of course. It kinda brought a smile to the hex caster's face whenever she recalled it.

It was almost a week into Raven's recovery when the alarm sounded off. The two, now accustomed to ignoring it, continued their tarot reading without pause and continued their conversation when the siren stopped. A few minutes later Jinx received a text on her communicator, and her face blanched as she read it, causing her partner to become concerned.

"What's wrong, J?"

"The others need me. It's the H.I.V.E. They're out for revenge," she replied, her voice filled with dread.

* * *

><p><strong>So there was a nice little chapter there right? They got to know each other a bit and we learned a little about Jinx's past. <strong>

**And now for a rare author to reader rundown! **

**For those of you who don't know, Jinx was original from India and looked nothing like her cartoon design. I added the part about the human traffickers. I thought that it would help connect her to the H.I.V.E. which I might dive further into later in the story. Hopefully. I have things planned. **

**On the Brother Blood thing. In the comics there was a whole line of them and one of them, the youngest, I think he was twelvish, brought Raven back from he dead and forced her to marry him so that way she could bear a portal to bring Trigon the terrible into the mortal realm of Earth. He even bit off her chakra. -That shiny red gem on Raven's forehead. Ravager and her father Slade tried to kill her to keep the end of the world from happening and beastboy had to scour Brother Blood's intestines as a leech to find Raven's gem. funtimes huh?**

**That's actually why I put Ravager in this story. Eventually she might become more important. Maybe. **

**If you want to know more about that story I suggest reading the comic if you can, it was great. Or you know, you can try googling it. **

**Anyway Raven pretty much hated her life then. Eventually I might delve into just what happened with Brother Blood and the girls in _this_ story but not yet. **

**Also, while on the story plot, Jinx and the battle for revenge! what Cyborg found out in his lab! What Robin has been keeping in his closet! THE MAIN VILLAIN! And then maybe, just maybe, we'll be at that elusive prologue everyone is so excited about! And of course there's a *~romance~* to bloom as well. Busy Busy Busy.**

**Still, I hope you all enjoyed this story so far, thanks for all the reviews, and happy reading! **


	6. Hell's Fire

**Hello once again audi- **

**-I mean dear readers. Sorry about the delay, but getting this chapter to come out the way I wanted it to took a couple rewrites. Add in a minor case of poison oak and you can imagine why I was a little delayed. **

**In any case, this is rather like on of those flashback chapters. Not too confusing I hope. I have faith in you reader. Be strong. ****That being said I feel it should be said that there is a character death in this chapter.**

**Caught your attention there didn't I? **

**Yes. I thought so. ****Also the first appearance of the MAIN VILLAIN, although the MAIN VILLAIN doesn- **

**-well. You'll see. Hopefully. The next chapter is already in progress. It should seem fairly familiar. *wink wink* That means the actual story plot is coming. Oh sweet Frabjous Day!**

** read & review if you want to but please don't sue. **

* * *

><p>The Tower was quiet.<p>

True enough, Jinx had rather assumed that because it was in the earliest of mornings the Tower would in fact be more on the silent side, but the overwhelming stillness emanating from the metal structure was eerie. The hex caster was secretly glad that the others had gone inside first, both to interrupt the deafening silence but also because it meant she didn't have to see the look of disappointment on their faces. Not that their displeasure could ever overshadow the regret already inside of her chest. Cyborg offered her sympathy, a comforting and steadying hand on her shoulder, but the mage was too dazed to really respond. She wasn't even sure if reality existed anymore. It seemed too slow… too empty. Like those ghastly eyes… Jinx's vision started to blur, and the sense of vertigo hit her almost at the same time the lingering smoke hit her nostrils.

_When she had arrived at the scene a slew of different and equally important details assaulted her attention at the same relieve time. First and foremost was the raging fire that lit up the bleak city street like a fireworks display in July. The second was the smoke; it was thick and acrid and it stung as she drew it into her nose and down into her lungs, where it pooled and curdled before being expelled only to have to repeat the entire process. She had instinctively slapped a hand over her face to try to limit the amount of tainted air she was breathing. The smoke also stung her eyes, causing them to water, which made spotting the rest of the team more difficult. She was able to make out shapes and flashes of different colors; the blaring shine of polished metal that she assumed was Cyborg, erratic spurts of Green which could only have been the Changeling… The harsh cry from somewhere behind the buildings was most likely where she was needed if she was any judge on the matter. _

She had raced to the building, dodging wreckage with ease. The battles had been an organized chaos, with each Titan a well oiled cog spinning independently together. The pink haired meta had to quell the clenching of her stomach as the evening events bombarded her once more. She had been blissfully in shock on the way back, but now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, she was helpless to stop her mind from replaying the events she was so desperate to put to rest somewhere deep and unreachable in some bottomless pit of her mind.

The rest of the Team filtered inside, each quieter and more grim than the last. Nobody seemed to be actively blaming her though, which was surprising. She supposed, with a bit of morbid humor, that those accusations would come later, once the shock had worn off. Assuming that the group even knew. How could they? She had been the only one there…

_She was on the roof of the third building that had caught fire. She was starting to get tired, the very first tinges of exhaustion beginning to introduce themselves. Pushing the hex caster's mind and body on, using will and resolve, she had long sense been able to ignore such problems, one of many techniques she was graceful the H.I.V.E. Academy had drilled into her younger self. She huffed as she dodged another blow, a few feathers managing to tickle the very tip of her nose. Jinx didn't know what had crawled into Angel's brain and died, but the hex caster quickly decided that she missed the quieter, non-angry-slightly-less-likely-to-kill-her fellow student that the girl once had been. As the wing continued to swish past her, she used the opening to place a well timed blow with her powers, causing Angel to be blasted backwards. She had tumbled along the roof with a series of painful sounding thuds, and it made Jinx shudder hearing the sound of them._

She was able to make it to the couch, and somewhere in her brain she realized the half-metal Titan had helped her there. Someone told her to take a few deep breaths, maybe Kon-El, but she couldn't quite hear them and her lungs didn't seem to want to work anyway. They certainly hadn't wanted to work when they had been filled with putrid smoke.

_Angel had landed on the edge of the roof, hidden from the catlike metahuman's view due to the blasted smoke. Coughing, Jinx had stumbled her way over to the area where her opponent was beginning to stir, navigating more by gut feelings than by sound or sight. _

Jinx felt small. Alone. Lost. The others in the room were moving far too fast for her to catch up. They hadn't _seen_ it. _Felt_ it. Part of her knew that most of them were by no means strangers to death, but Jinx had watched thehope drain from her_ eyes._ She had _known_ her. Gone to _school_ with her. It was so hard to breath. It felt as though the winged meta was strangling her all over again.

_They were wrestling on edge of the roof, each tumble bringing them closer to an inevitable fate, one that at any other time would have brought a smile to the hex caster's face due to its sheer amount of irony. _

When Jinx heard the billboard give, it had been her honest first reaction to push Angel away as she rolled to the side. No matter how much she wanted to picture herself doing anything otherwise, she had been the one to push the villainess over the edge. A cruel smile splashed its way across her face before it was replaced by another frown. Angel should have been able to fly away. She had certainly tried to. But then the billboard fell, pinning the girl beneath it as the massive advertisement continued its prediscoursed journey down past the roof and into the awaiting flames far below.

She had lunged at the winged girl of course, she reminded herself absently. She had gotten the chance she needed. The chance that Angel had needed.

But not the luck.

_She swallowed, breathing deeply as she did so. Her hands were gripping the edge of the gutter so tightly her knuckles made the rest of her skin look tanned. They almost matched the white of Angel's wings, Jinx thought emotionlessly, as she watched the girl continue to plummet. She kept her eyes glued to the pair, billboard and girl, fully expecting one of the flying members to magically appear and save the day. But the longer that she crouched there, the more fate seemed to affirm what she already knew. _

She should have used her communicator.

She should have shouted.

She should have done _something_.

_Anything_.

Anything other than simply watch as her replacement fell to her demise. But she hadn't been able to move. Hadn't been able to speak. She had been powerless to do –to _feel_- anything at all.

The hex caster was jolted out of her thoughts by a gentle shake. The cat eyed metahuman looked up, and was slightly surprised to see the warrior princess floating in front of her. The alien offered a sad understanding smile. She had been the first to spot Jinx on that roof, glued to the very edge of the brickwork as if she was torn between jumping and collapsing. The surprised Tamaranean had flown in to investigate, but it was only as she had knelt beside her comrade that she had noticed the fallen structure down on the chaotic street below. The fire had thankfully blocked out the sight of the broken body, but the stench of burning flesh had been impossible to miss. The odd laughing though, that was what haunted the hex caster the most, it had just filled her mind and echoed and intensified; it had felt like a black sludge dripping into her…not unlike the grasp of Brother Blood taking hold. It was a dark slimly feeling that bathed her soul in grime and made her wish for a century long shower although she doubted it would ever get her clean again.

"You should get some rest dear friend," she instructed gently, breaking Jinx out of her thoughts once again, her hand giving the ex-thief's shoulder a light squeeze, "dark things often become illuminated with time."

Jinx could only nod at the redhead, the suggestion taking root in the subconscious part of her brain that probably controlled her well being. She stood, her mind still filled with smoke and fire and that god forsaken gruesome laughter. Or was that the Team talking behind her? She couldn't focus enough to tell. She was vaguely aware of someone toughing her again, but it almost went completely unnoticed. As she walked through the sliding metal doors and into the corridor the witch wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep from shivering.

Her feet brought her to a stop. When she managed to actually see the door she realized she was in front of Raven's room. The empath was most likely asleep but… Jinx's eyes started to water. Sleep be damned. She needed to find her partner. Her friend.

She rammed her hands against the door, not sure whether the movement or her powers were the actual cause of the cold doors opening, and unable to decide how to feel about it. How does one really know what the cause of anything is? She wondered to herself bitterly, still functioning from within her daze. How was anyone ever sure of anything? She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. A H.I.V.E graduate did _not_ let their lip tremble. Not unless they were alone and preferably in the dark where no one could see. Lesson five hundred and thirty six. First year. Class eight. Second day.

The hex caster made her way over to the psion's bed, stepping over miscellaneous stacks of books on the floor. She leaned over to wake the empath up only to pause as her brain momentarily shut off.

Raven wasn't there.

Jinx bit her lip harder before the sting of copper finally released the well of tears in her catlike eyes. She hovered there for a few moments, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared at the bed confused. The empath had been sitting there with her mere hours before, the tarot cards were still scattered across the sheets… _The children._ The thought sprung from her brain, most likely the one dedicated to her best self interests. Relief flittered through her chest, momentarily giving her a reprieve from the dark shadows beginning to dwell there. Raven was probably down the hall a few doors in the Tot's room, reading them a story or mending a blanket or something. She kept the thought firmly rooted in her mind, using it as grip to keep her feet in reality.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, in case the children were awake. There was an unwritten rule around children, one of many actually, that she had followed rather religiously since before her days in the Academy. One of them being never to cry.

She paused in front of the doors to the children's room as they slid open, a strange tingling sensation creeping up the back of her neck. It looked dark, only the dim glow of a small nightlight in the corner provided any illumination. Her eye sight adjusted naturally as she walked into the room and she took a glance around. She peered into the baby's crib, as it was closest, with an almost placid paranoia. It was empty. Starting to feel sick, she slowly crept over to Tommy's "big boy bed" before realizing that it too was devoid of any inhabitants. The feeling of dread lodged itself firmly in her gut, and she felt what few maternal instincts she had kick in as she raced to Melvin's bed on the other side of the room in a panic.

Gone.

They were all gone.

_What the hell was going on?_

Her heartbeat was racing and her throat swelled. Her mind shot off like a rocket, thousands of reasons and excuses ranging from probable to inane ricocheted back and forth in her brain. She was only snapped out of it when her street-surviving instincts kicked in and override the others.

Calmly, she knelt over, lifted the bottoms of the bedsheets and hoisted them up so she could see under the bed. A sock. A couple of building blocks. What appeared to be a graveyard of broken dolls with miscellaneous pieces missing. No children. She let the sheets slip slowly out of her fingers and stood up. Worldlessly she turned and walked over to the closet and threw open the door.

There, huddled together and wrapped in a bright blue blanket were the three little missing children, the oldest staring at her innocently with big watchful eyes, her face calm and content. Jinx wanted to hit something, _hard._ Instead she sighed in relief.

"What are you guys doing in here?"

"Raven told us to hide," the eldest stated, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world. She yawned and pulled her small _stuffed_ teddy-bear closer. She was close to passing out. The other two were already long gone. The hex caster, once again on edge, knelt down in front of the small blonde.

"Why did she do that?"

"She said there was someone in the Tower that didn't belong here. She said she would tell us when it was safe to come out," her explanation was interrupted by another yawn, "but she hasn't come back yet..." she finished sadly, her baby blue eyes filled with worry.

Jinx ruffled her hair and offered her a smile; "Don't worry, Raven's a big girl, I'm sure she's fine;" Melvin's face lit up once more, trusting the older Titan's words, Jinx scooped up the younger two and stood up, "let's get you guys back into bed shall we?"

"But what about the," another yawn, "person?"

"The whole rest of the Team is home Mel, we got it covered just fine," the hex caster replied, and with that she made her way over to Melvin's bed and placed the younger children down gently. The imaginer crawled in beside them and smiled happily when Jinx tucked them in. The hex caster mumbled a good night and headed out of the room, only one thought ringing in her ears: w_here was Raven?_

_Raven was worried now. Someone was doing this on purpose. The energy field didn't just set off random signals unless it was broken by a ley line, and she had checked that already. The vibrations were coming in patterns now, almost a kind of magical Morse code. The empath pinched the bridge of her nose. She really wasn't trained for this sort of thing. If Jinx was here she could tell me what was wrong, she thought to herself as she dropped into her bed. Of course she was currently off saving the day and so it was pointless to think of such impractical things. What if the Tower was in danger? Or the children? No one was here but herself, and Robin still hadn't cleared her for duty. If she was wrong, investigated, and turned up nothing or created a mess, he might go so far as to suspend her hero license permanently. Okay, so that was a little farfetched, she thought to herself, the Titans didn't actually have heroing licenses, but there would still be consequences. But what would the consequences of not investigating be?_

_A crack sounded throughout the Tower._

_That was enough for the empath._

_She closed her eyes and probed the tower, scanning for any pockets of emotion, which would tell her the location of the intruder, if there was one. Sensing nothing, but still nursing a powerful dose of foreboding and dire urgency, the demidemon sank through her bed into a mass of black energy which spun and spat her back out and into the Tot's bedroom. Quietly she drifted over to the eldest's bed and shook her awake._

_"Melvin honey wake up," the empath ordered quietly, barely even a whisper._

_"Mmmwhhha?" managed the blonde as she rubbed the dredges of sleep from her eyes._

_"Hush now, keep quiet. There's…" she paused, unsure of what exactly to tell the child, "There is something…or someone here that shouldn't be. Wake the others and hide. I'll tell you when it's safe."_

_"Whuh…What so we do if they find us first?" the younger girl asked through groggy yawns._

_"Whatever you can," Raven replied firmly and with that, she teleported to the common room via the Azarathian express and was caught by surprise when she noticed a strange light in the city some miles away. That must have been the fight. She shouldn't have looked out of the window. She knew that now, as she began chewing her lower lip. She wanted to help her friends. Odds were that they needed every hand they could get, but she had other things to worry about._

_An ice cold feeling slithered its way up her spine and tugged at her psyche. Raven turned in the direction it pulled, fully expecting to come into contact with something particularly nasty. Instead, what she saw only made her gasp in surprise._

"Aw I don't know man. Are ya sure about this?"

"Positive. This mission proved it. It's finally time for the Titans to become a fully global independently operational organization. And it's time for _Robin_ to step down. Nightwing will be here long enough to oversee the changes…but after that the group will be good to go on its own."

The partially mechanical Titan sighed and rubbed the metal plating on his chin; "I jus' don't see why it has to be now... Things are kinda crazy if ya hadn't noticed."

"That's exactly my point," the masked wonder replied before being distracted by one of the scanners beeping madly, "What does that mean?"

Cyborg rushed to the data pad and checked the findings, re-read the results, and stood back in silence for a moment before replying sadly, "It means there ain't a cure for Lil' Rae after all…"

Dick Grayson cursed. He paced around the larger male, his head bowed and his brow knit in deep thought. He shook his head and cursed again before turning back to his friend; "Is there anything? _Anything_ we can do?"

"Look man, I've run every test I can think off… Multiple times!" he shook his head and focused his mechanical eye and the empath's biochart, "Whatever's going on with her is just her. There ain't a cure because there's nothing actually wrong with her, nothing that I can pick up anyway."

"Well there goes _that_ plan…"

"What?"

"Nevermind," he rushed, "Let's ju-"

"-Nah man, you've been holdin out on me long enough," replied the metal man with a hint of amused irritation, "tell me what the hell is going on in that greasy gelled up head of yours."

Seeing that the mechanical Titans was not about to give in, Richard relented. He rubbed his knee absently and replied grimly, "The Bat is starting to get impatient. He's got his ducks all lined up and has nowhere to take 'em…" he sighed and sat in the closest metal swivel chair, spinning until he could see the nearest monitor, "There's a couple of murder's he wants me to look into. I've got a lead on Black Mask but there isn't a whole lot I can do from out here. Oracle's bitten off more than she can chew and Bette is getting serious, even bought her own costume. …I wanted to leave knowing that my Team could handle everything thrown at them and more. I wanted you, Gar, Star and Raven to be able to lead the others and to be fine if they choose to leave," he clenched his fist and swept a hand through his jet black well gelled hair before continuing with a grunt, "I can't leave knowing my Team might not be capable of that yet. Kon-El and Diana had a point, Raven's been cut off far too long. That was my fault, I admit that. And we really could have used her out in the field today."

"I kinda thought she was already there…I mean Jinx was," Cyborg added scratching his head.

Robin looked up at his comment, his mind whirling, "She was at the scene?"

"You didn't know?"

"Shit. Actually I didn't. Why didn't anyone call it?"

"Well when I saw her she said you'd brought her in. She didn't seem happy 'bout it neither. Last I saw of her she was on the couch in the common room looking really down. I don't know what went down on the roof top but from the look on her face as we rode home I don't think it was anything good."

"Find her. And Raven for that matter. Tell them to meet me in the briefing room, I've got some things to go over with them."

"That won't be necessary," a feminine voice replied, causing the two males to turn their heads, "I'm right here. But Raven..." Jinx paused looking distressed and the Fearless Leader stood up when he noticed the girl's tear stained cheeks; "Raven's missing."

"Missing? What about the kids?"

She nodded at their leader, "The kids are fine, they told me Raven set out to chase an intruder from the Tower."

Cyborg shifted his weight a bit in confusion, "My sensors never picked up anything and none of the alarms ever went off…"

"What were you doing at the city?" Richard interrupted.

The hex caster paused but kept her composure; "I got a text from you saying you needed me in the field. I left Raven and the Tots and…" her breath hitched and she had to take a deep breath before continuing, "I think I screwed up on the roof."

"What happened?"

"Angel died."

The two other Titans looked at each other before looking back at Jinx.

"No…no she didn't," The masked wonder replied slowly as he stepped closer to her, "Angel was taken into custody a few hours ago with the others. Billies and all."

The hex caster's eyes widened, her pupils receding into narrow slits, "I know what I saw Robin, and I watched her get crushed to death by a falling billboard. She was pinned underneath it all the way down. Then the flames swallowed her up like Satan's candy."

Cyborg walked over and put his hands on the lithe witch's shoulders, comfortingly, before replying softly, "Jinxycat, Angel is sitting in the twenty seventh cell in Jump's Pen," he searched the mage's eyes for any sign of dawning realization. When none came he continued, "whoever you saw J, it wasn't Angel. She, See-More, Billy _and_ Kid Wykkyd were all rounded up. Mammoth and Gizmo too. All accounted for."

Jinx turned her gaze to the floor; "But that doesn't…I… A-and she…"

"Look, maybe ya fought someone on that roof, but whoever it was, it wasn't Angel."

Jinx snapped her head up suddenly; "Starfire!"

"Say what now?" Cyborg replied taken aback, "you were fight'n Star?"

"No, she found me on the roof. She was there. She's gotta know what happened!" she exclaimed, turning from one to the other; she didn't want Angel to be dead, but she knew what had happened had happened, or at least she thought it had… Now she wasn't so sure.

The fearless leader looked at her for a moment before nodding; "This calls for a team meeting. As in everyone."

"What about Raven?" asked the mechanical man.

He scowled before returning his gaze to the pink haired hex caster; "Have you tried calling her comm. Unit?" she nodded in affirmation, if the empath had the device on her, she wasn't responding; Grayson snarled in frustration and looked at the clock on the monitor. It was almost time for his morning workout. He ran a hand through his hair before replying, "Alright guys, Raven's strong and capable of handling herself. We'll give her a while before we panic. Angel is safe in her cell so we can sort that out later today… Someone will have to take the Tot's to the train station too," he paused and looked around before adding, "I'll also hold a debriefing later, there's something I have to discuss with everybody. Now with that all being said, I highly suggest you all get some sleep while you still can," he finished and the others nodded; Cyborg walked over to the power switches to shut down the medbay for the night. Satisfied Robin waited until he was finished before the three headed into the hallway. Jinx and the mechanical man headed for their respective rooms while he headed for the Tower's newly renovated gym.

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><p><strong>Well wasn't that a kicker? Dead, not dead... You really can't trust dead people anymore can you? Oh, sure, have a revolving afterlife policy! you can be dead or alive as needed as often as you life! Gets bloody confusing doesn't it? *is giggling*<strong>

**So that was a fun chapter no? Raven goes missing... Angel is mysteriously in two places at once and may or may not be dead. Cyborg can't find anything wrong with Raven. Robin is almost Nightwing and hasn't told the others yet. (we know because we're the reader. clever, no?) And the Tots are still safe and sound. like i would hurt children. **

**no. stop giving me those ideas. bad reader. bad. **

**In any case, did you perchance catch the mentioning of the MAIN VILLAIN in the story? **

**Here's a hint: It wasn't Angel.**

**And a clue because you're being such a faithful reader: MAIN VILLAIN wasn't mentioned as a person but was described quite well anyway. **

**So now you're wondering several things reader, and if you aren't then you shouldn't be. these questions may include but are not limited to:  
><strong>

**Where's the gratuitous Raven & Jinx smut that i was promised? **well that isnt for a couple chapters to come yet. it's closer than you think however. sort of. be patient.

**Where's the fucking MAIN VILLAIN already? **Need another hint? very well: black, slimy, grimy, and all in someone's head on a rooftop. yes, this "force" has a physical representation that will show up. in the very next chapter too. i just can't tell you where. that would be giving away too much.

**Why cant i hold all these characters?** well you could try ignoring the ones you dont care about...might miss out on some importanish things though. perhaps you could acquire a different meme?

**Why cant you edit better? **ahhh yes...beta reading was never my forte. i promise that i am trying to better that skill. it appears to be slow going on that front i'm afraid. i do apologize.

**When are we getting back to the damn prologue? **Why, in the very next chapter of course.

**Just what kind of fanfiction are you writing anyway?** Why my dear reader, i'm writing the best fanfiction i can.

Also, the story may be taking a darker turn from here on out. it might get bleak. it might get scary. sexy. maybe even a little unexpected. but take each chapter as it comes and you'll reach the end eventually. good luck.

**Welp, Happy reading! Review if you want to! **


	7. Hellish Grace & HeavenlyTragedy

**Hello once again dear reader, sorry for the delay but my plumbing decided to sell its soul to Satan and then my poison oak decided to spread. Then I had a few problems trying to actually upload the chapter before realizing I just needed to re-accept the terms of agreement on here. Funny really.**

** In any case, this chapter should help to finally make everything almost make sense. Plot wise at least. WE'RE FINALLY BACK AT THE BEGINNING DEAR READER, this means that for about 2,000 words or so you might experience the strange feeling of deja vu. Do not be alarmed if this happens.  
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**Also, thank you to all who faved, read, or reviewed so far; it means a lot and I appreciate it.**

**Final top note, I still do not own Teen Titans, Batman, or any other franchise mentioned and/or referenced to. **

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><p>Richard Grayson had long been known for his ability to keep calm and collected even during the most extraneous of circumstances, which was what made him an operable candidate for the leader position of the Titans organization and an extremely reliable friend, however, when the alarm sounded throughout the Tower disrupting his routine sparring session in the recently renovated gym, a shiver of unexplainable fear settled about his spine and worked its way to the base of his neck. He dropped his bow-staff and wiped the sweat off of his mask and, in a rush, he dashed into the common room where the other Titans had already assembled. His feeling of dread only worsened when he noticed their grim expressions. Only Terra seemed less worried than the others which was probably due to the fact that the poor girl was still waking up. She was more than likely still getting reused to the Titan's erratic schedule Robin thought as he watched her yawn. She had only rejoined them a few weeks ago after all. And the battle from the night prier probably hadn't helped things either. Perhaps he'd have to push for that mandatory bedtime after all…<p>

"Cyborg, what's going on?" the Boy Wonder directed towards the half mechanical member of the team.

"Yeah, I mean, who in their right mind gets up to trouble at two o'clock in the-" Beast-Boy was cut off by a well meant prod from the blonde rock bender. He grinned sheepishly in reply before yawning himself. Come to think of it, he thought, anybody getting up to trouble in their town probably wasn't in their right minds. He watched silently as Cyborg began clicking away on the main computer.

"I don't know man, but I got a bad feelin' 'bout this, leeme check the scanner to see if anythin' comes up…" he replied; his fingers rapping against the keyboard controls, "oh man…" he dropped his hands and turned to face the others; his worried expression triggering the alien princess to speak first.

"What is it friend? Some horrendous new villain that we must conquer?" Starfire asked inquisitively, her ever bubbly nature ever prevailing.

The metal man shook head and replied hurriedly, "It's Raven."

"Dude, what'd'ya mean it's Raven?" asked the green changeling in confusion.

"She wasn't supposed to be on patrol tonight; something big must have happened if she's in trouble," Robin answered, Jinx looked as though she was going to ass more but he directed a stern look at her and she changed her mind; "Cyborg get a lock on her location," he ordered without room for questioning, "and let's take the car; we don't want to take any risks if we don't have to."

"Ok…it looks like her com is right at the downtown library," he replied as his mechanical fingers whirled across the controls.

"Dude, wasn't that the one where those things chased us and we saw that thing and then Raven was all like weird and then Slade popped up and Raven threw 'em down all creepy-like? I thought that place was like _destroyed_?"

"Yes, and it was, and if she's there now then it can't mean anything good. Titans, let's _go._"

The team dashed to the T-car -or flew in Starfire's case, Cyborg took the wheel and Robin the shotgun, leaving the remaining Titans to scramble into the backseats. Cyborg pressed the buttons for the automatic seatbelts, the auto target lock, and the underground tunnel door opener button, which was secretly his favorite. As the car's wheels raced towards their fallen comrade, Robin's mental wheels were racing even faster. He was at a loss as to what could have overtaken the empath, and the only logical answers he could find only served to fuel his fears further.

There was not much that could take on the daughter of the devil one on one, after all, she had taken down Trigon almost singlehandedly! After which the latter's powers had channeled themselves into the half demon, making her even more powerful than she already was. Of course that had also come with a cost for the psion, as she was still suffering from overwhelming amounts of physical and emotional pain. The thought did nothing to reassure him. He did not like the look of things, and he feared for the worst, whatever it might be.

What he found however was both infinitely better and worse than anything any of the Titans could have imagined, for what they found when they searched the library grounds was none other than the object of their search lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs, her cloak darkly stained with crimson fluids and very much unconscious. When Robin turned Raven over to see her face, he noticed too prominent wounds at the base of her neck. Puncture wounds, almost crescent shaped, and just far enough apart to fit into a roughly human sized mouth. There were also numerous cuts and bruises forming on the girl's body and Robin could only guess how many broken and fractured bones she had obtained judging from the way her limbs seemed to be positioned.

Beast-Boy, naturally, was the first to bring up a paranormal explanation, and normally, the Fearless Leader would have cast off such musings as the product of Beast-Boy's over imaginative mind, but, he had long ago learned that whenever Raven was in the equation, nothing could ever be cast off or ignored, as her problems were usually several other problems compounded together and held basis in almost every field imaginable. The fact that her wounds weren't bleeding and he couldn't feel any pulse also put a stopper to any other arguments he might have made. He placed the fallen hero into the backseat and instructed Cyborg to take her to the infirmary and to start any procedure to help the violet eyed girl as he saw fit, and instructed the others to help him at the scene of crime to find any further clues as to what had happened.

There was not much to see. In fact, the area despite its grimy run down state littered with debris, actually contained very little of use to the Titans. After circling the yard a few times with Beast-Boy's Bloodhound nose, the only clue they found was of a strange vaguely familiar otherworldly scent that didn't quite match up to Raven's, Slade's, or to her father's and it was very faint. Jinx by that time had managed to pry the old library doors open, following on a hunch that there might be some relevance to the old building. Robin followed the hex caster inside, banking on the witch's luck where it concerned the empath, after instructing Starfire and Super Boy to check out the scene from above. Beast-Boy continued to scent the area, hoping for a lead. Ravager, tempted as she was to make sure the car arrived safely back to the tower, checked out some of the various piles of debris that were still standing. The others applied themselves the best that they could.

The two oddest colored Titans wandered deeper into the dusty building, both feeling unnerved, Robin due to his past encounters in the place, and Jinx because she could sense lingering presences that flittered about her aura. She hugged herself and tried not to sneeze over any of the moldy books. The energy field in the building was positively chaotic, any usage of her powers was sure to bring the whole place crumbling sideways.

"Ya think Raven came in here or…" the pink mage trailed off. She spoke as much for keeping herself calm as she did from curiosity of her teammate's well being.

"Hard to tell. Last time we were here she ran off. And for good reason. Right now we're just looking for anything useful or out of place."

"Why? What happened last time?" she asked, turning to face him in the gloom. She silently thanked her catlike vision once again as she narrowly avoided an overturned bookcase.

"The end of the world," he stated as he opened the secret passage, "Turns out this was actually the Church of Blood that worshiped her father, who's Trigon by the way, and when we investigated we heard a prophesy that didn't make sense till Raven sacrificed herself, got chased by some weird spirits that tried to kill us, and then watched Raven take down Slade from outta nowhere. And then of course, the whole end of the world thing. It was her birthday."

Jinx let out a low whistle; "Damn. Sucky place. Suckier birthday present."

"Tell me about it. So why weren't you with her again?"

Jinx flinched and her smile vanished, "I didn't know she had gone and you supposedly called me into battle," she whispered with as much sarcasm. They continued for a while in silence.

"Do ya think she'll be okay?" she asked as they descended another flight of stairs. She was doing her best not think about it but seeing Raven in a crumpled heap had scared her more than she had cared to admit. And she did care, she cared a lot. It reminded her too much of watching Angel die. If she had died, that was. She wasn't so sure of anything anymore.

"Raven's…Raven," he managed to reply.

Jinx nodded and turned her attention back to the stairs. Which seemed to have had fallen away some time ago. She cast a glance over the edge into the bottomless hole and grinned as she debated on whether or not to spit.

"Well genius?"

"Hold on," the fearless leader commanded as he grabbed her, ran off the last of the steps, and used his grappling gun in the same fashion he had the last time he had visited the place. The two swung safely into the next passage and Jinx proceeded to attempt to pry her nails out of the Boy Wonder's flesh.

"…A little warning next time would be nice..."

"Heh, sorry," he sheepishly replied while readjusting his belt, "Come on, it's not much farther now."

Unfortunately, when they arrived there wasn't anything to see. Beast Boy and the others had similar luck themselves. There didn't appear to be any other clues or leads or anything suggestive to be found anywhere and that failed to sit well with any of the group.

Meanwhile, in the Titan's medbay, Cyborg had hooked Raven to various equipment and numerous monitors and was trying his best to figure out just how Raven could be helped. He wasn't even sure if –Don't go there, he warned himself. She was still, but she was _always_ still, and he could have sworn he had seen her twitch gently when he had placed her onto the cot. He sighed and picked up a syringe, he would just have to run on the hope that there was still someway he could help. With any luck there would be a trace of what had attacked Raven in the area of her wounds that the scanners could identify. He placed the needle inside the left puncture wound and nearly cringed as Raven moaned quietly. In startled panic Cyborg ripped the needle out and caught his breath; at least she was still alive he thought, but for how much longer?

He almost sighed in relief when he heard the others thundering up the hall. Cyborg turned to face the others when they crashed inside the doors in a jumbled heap. They all wore exasperated and various degrees of worried expressions.

"Please inform us that friend Raven is in fact not harmed and that she has not become involved in some elaborate metaphysical philosophical debate between the divine!" the red head cried as she plucked herself from her companions.

Beat Boy shook himself and glanced worriedly about, "Dude of course she's gonna be okay, I mean, she's Raven! What would the kids say?" he said, in reference to the three "Tot Titans" that Raven had taken a shining too. No doubt the three children would be awake and bouncing around the walls any second.

Several agreeing nods spread through the group before they pressed around their fallen friend as if they could will the shadow bender awake.

"Where's Speedy and Rosie-girl?" Cyborg asked, shoving threw them to hook up Raven's blood transfusion. He was hoping that the universal type lived up to its name as he was rather low on options. Raven had bled out, he didn't know how much but as Raven was nearing a shade of pale he had previously thought impossible, he was going with "a lot." He inserted the IV into Raven's arm and began to bandage it in place, just in case it became jostled.

"They're still patrolling. Aqualad's got the sea searching for anything, the other branches have nothing to report and Oracle's put a word out on her end. They're long shots but if there's anything to be found I want to find it although if this thing gets any bigger the League is going to pop up on the main screen any minute telling us to stand down and hand everything over. You know how they get with demons."

"Dude they can't do that, they just freaking set us up!"

"I know bu-"

"Besides," Terra interrupted, her lingering disdain for the empath coating her words a bit more harshness than she originally intended, "she's going to wake up any second, pull some freaky stunt and then tell us all not to worry and to forget about everything just like she always does."

Raven ironically chose that moment to noticeably stir, startling the others. She sat up, screamed a blood curdling scream, and raked her fingers along her back. Her skin grew redder and redder and her screams grew louder and louder; Logan was certain she'd be able to give the Black Canary a run for her money. The empath tore at her skin which started to seemingly drip off of her in uneven strips and large masses of paler flesh bulged outwards. Raven wailed and fell onto the floor, crippling pain shooting through every fiber of her being as her body changed, mutated, and bled. Liquid hellfire scorched her inside of her veins and burned her red blood into a thicker, darker black. The others could only stare in shock as their friend writhed in agony as her ribcage contorted and compacted, gaining another set muscles beneath her slender shoulders. Briefly, the change seemed to stop, allowing Raven time enough to stand and groan before she hunched over, clutching her head in renewed agony. The protrusions on her back spiked outwards suddenly, splattering a few droplets of blood as they did so, and before the Titan's platter sized eyes, rapidly took a more complete form.

They swept in graceful tragic elegance along her back; the freshly spilling blood trickling through the black-violet feathers down along the deceivingly thin batlike membrane eliciting quiet gasps from the other Titans as a single thought ran through their minds: _wings_. Other features, such as the ebony colored horns and claws only further served as proof and the long spade tipped tail was also clearly visible, ceasing any remains of doubt. Raven, rightfully exhausted from the changes her body had underwent in an amazingly short span of time, succumbed to the pain and started to limply fall to the floor. Jinx, having recovered first and having somewhat expected something like this to happen, rushed to her partner's aid and managed to break Raven's fall.

"What the hell?" Beast Boy cried, unaware of his descent into profanity; his confusion mirrored in the faces of the others, "Sh-she's…like…a…a…"

"A demon."

Their heads whipped to face the owner of the new voice. They did not need any introduction for the person standing a few mere feet away; they had heard many a description about her from the empath. Azar. Raven's mentor and leader of Azarath's ecclesiocracy. Azar looked to be the complete counter image of Raven, with long angelically white golden hair, infinitely light blue eyes and two pairs of wings that called forth visions of oversized doves. She was dressed similarly to the uniforms Raven usually wore, save for its white color and the billowing fabric that fell in a slited dress as opposed to Raven's black leotard. Her manner was calm, and her aura suggested that thousands of years of wisdom resided somewhere within her. She was powerful. Frightening. More so because of her height, nearly seven and a half feet of graceful slimlined glory. And she was beautiful. If _this_ was one of the few people the empath had seen growing up, it suddenly made sense as to why she had so many self image issues, they thought.

"What have you done to my _parum__privigna_?"

"Well your grace," Robin began as he was the first to recover himself, "She's been attacked by something. We don't actually know by what or who."

"We think it was a vamp –oof" the shapeshifter began as he was once again cut off by a well placed elbow.

The godlike woman knelt beside Raven and glanced her over before looking back at them.

"Perhaps, you should start from the beginning…" she commanded, her accent strange and otherworldly. It reminded the founding Titans of the way Raven had spoke, years ago, when they had first joined together. Compared to the woman before them however, the empath's accent had been less noticeable and far more gruff. Sandpaper whereas the Queen's was silk.

Robin and the others took their turns describing the current situation as they understood it. With each turn the godlike queen doled out the same measure of respect and attention to each speaker. Around the second story or so, Azar left her student's side to stand beside the large window overlooking the docks. It was an idle gesture, one which the Titans clearly saw; she was humoring them for her own amusement and the small group of teenagers suddenly felt as though they were small children once again, and it was something that didn't sit well them at all, especially the Fearless Leader, who tried the hardest to look his position. They covered everything from Raven's defeat of her father, her growing headaches and emotional patterns to her week of sick leave to her fever, and to her recovery from the library-church; they each provided bits and pieces to the puzzle, hoping that the overall picture would be clear enough to the Queen for her to be able to do something about it. After they were finished the matriarch nodded to herself, the regal smile never slipping her face, as she glided back over to the empath, who was still in the lap of the pink haired hex caster.

"Tell me child," she asked the cat eyed girl, "I sense a curdled draíochta in you…have you had similar problematicum?"

"Well I watched someone die who apparently wasn't there. Does that count?" she asked with her trademark grin, "No fever's or shapeshifts for me though."

Azar nodded once more, a bit slower before replying, "Do you remember anything particularly corr about it?"

The witch cocked her head and looked the alien princess who offered her a smile; Jinx sighed, closed her eyes and pictured the events in her mind as she replied, "It all felt so real…I mean I still have some of the bruises…and then as she fell I couldn't do anything…and then…Then there was the laughter…" She opened her eyes and shuddered a bit before readjusting the empath in her lap.

The matriarch dipped her head and mumbled something before glancing back at the hex caster; "It sounds as though you were the íospartach of a Daemonicus impetum."

"Dude, demonicus? Like…demony stuff?" The changeling didn't want to say it, but the empath was the only demon Jump City had, and he didn't want to think his friend was linked to anything of that nature, despite how moody the empath tended to be towards him.

"It couldn't have been Raven," the said witch defensively, "I left her at the Tower."

"And then she went missing," replied Donna; she admired the psion to some extent, but facts were facts and the rules of justice applied to all.

"I know," the matriarch stated, interrupting the argument that likely had been forming; "I was the one who called her to the Chruch of Blood. A slight mistake on my account perhaps, but it was the only way I could reach her in this realm."

She turned to face the leader's questioning gaze, "I felt her troubled mind from my own dimension, but it seems I have arrived later than intended…"

"Please, will Raven be alright?" asked the Tamaranean in worry.

"She is fine," the godlike Queen replied emotionlessly, "her body merely changed to better contain the power within her. As to the bite…I can only assume that she too was attacked by a similar beast…You," she called, turning back to the hex caster, "is there a cut along her abdomen?"

Jinx pressed a hand to the empath's stomach and pulled it away again when she felt something warm and sticky. She looked at the matriarch and nodded in affirmation.

"And do you have a similar wound?"

Jinx lifted a corner of her shirt to find that indeed, she too sported such an injury. She looked at the others, shocked.

"Then you both were attacked by a demon…" here Azar trailed off in deep thought, her smile wavering again.

The masked wonder approached her slowly, "You rather sound like you have something on your mind your grace," he said, inferring that the Queen was holding information back. Her smile returned and nodded.

"When one rules an entire dimension, one often does. Next my dear boy, you shall be telling me that the sky is blue and water is wet," she replied sarcasticly.

"Unless it's ice," Jinx mumbled under her breath.

"Quite right my child," Azar answered, catching the hex caster off guard and causing her to blush; "I came to this Earth to warn my parum privigna of a grave matter. A matter that has only recently been shown to light."

"And?" asked Speedy, eager to finally know what the hell was going on. He, like some of the new Titans, still felt as though he were flapping about in the dark.

The mirth in Azar's eyes died away as her smile fell, her emotionless face made Raven's seem like a firework display; "Tis for her ears as tis her knowledge to know. What she shall choose to do with it is her own negotiis," and with that, the matriarch exuded the notion that she would say no more on the matter and asked if there was any place she could rest. Robin nodded respectfully and somewhat reservedly, and instructed Super Girl to show the godlike queen to one of the Tower's spare rooms. With the excitement once again draining from the Tower, the other's started to resume their normal routines one by one until the medbay was occupied only by Cyborg, Jinx, the unconscious demidemon, and the Caped Crusader's favored protégé who knelt quietly beside the two magic uses on the cold linoleum floor.

It was strange, he thought, seeing her like this. Having become what she strived to abstain from daily. If he was going to be honest with himself, it rather scared him. Richard had seen Raven as the small white cloaked child he had rescued for so long that it was shocking to realize once again just how dangerous and grown up the empath really was. He hoped for Raven's sake that her mentor knew what she was doing. In the long run, having the matriarch at the Tower might even prove beneficial to the girl, he thought to himself, if anyone knew how to help her it would probably be the woman who had raised her. Satisfied that things were going well, he stood up and turned to the mechanical Titan.

"Cyborg, I want you to take her to her room. I'd rather have her waking up somewhere familiar to her than risk her freaking out when she wakes up," he instructed, to which Cyborg nodded and gingerly picked the empath up, carefully making sure not to jar her wings or trip on her tail; "Jinx," he added as the girl stood up and brushed herself off, "You can either wait with her until she wakes up or take the kids to the train station in half an hour," he said as he looked at the time, "Up to you."

"I think I'll take the kids to the station. Raven'll probably have Azar with her anyway."

The Fearless Leader nodded. Things were finally looking up. At the rate things were going, he would be able to leave within the month. The thought brought both pride and regret into his brightly colored breast. He only hoped the Tamaranean would take the news better then he felt she would. As he watched the hex caster and the Titan of steel exit the room he rubbed the top of his knee. He hoped the rest of the team would take it better then he thought they might for that matter.

Raven was curled up on her side, tail tucked tightly around her like a cat and her wings draping over her small frame like a pair of downy blankets, the very picture of innocence in the face of death. Azar was standing over her, her smile ear to ear and filled with sharply pointed teeth. Her brother had done well, he mentally giggled, yes, as soon as he was able, he would tell James and the other how their plan was going. They still had a lot to do after all, and the stunt Jack pulled had been rather clever for the gangly unshaven slacker. Although that did come with his territory, he mused. She looked back down at the unconscious demonling in an almost fond manner. Soon his sister would reclaim her rightful place at their sides and the universe would be their playground…but oh…they had so much to do before then… Now, to tell Jared to proceed with phase two…

And with that the matriarch started to laugh, her eyes briefly glinting red.

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><p><strong>Well now, I bet you think you know to watch out for, don't you? But the Titans...ah...they know nothing of the trouble brewing in the air. Nor the romance for that matter. That's on its way too.<strong>

**Now, you may be wondering, "What the hell was that Azar chick saying? It wasn't English?" **Well no, it was a mixture of google translated Latin and Irish. Which means there's probably errors with it, but it _sounds_ right, which was what I had been going for. If you've been ruling an entire dimension for some odd centuries you're bound to pick up the best eloquence available. If I knew Azarathain I would have used that instead, but sadly we just have to sit content with Azar "translating" her common tongue into ours. ...That sounded dirty...

**Also, I KNOW I used masculine pronouns for Azar in the last couple of paragraphs, that was intentional. Like Terra and the original Red-X, Azar is not who she appears to be. those of you who are familiar with Raven's comic backstory have probably pieced my plot together by now, congrats, but it's still going to be different. Artistic License and all. I will try to stay cannon with certain things and character behaviors, so my story won't seem completely out of left field.**

To those of you who have no idea about it, congrats, you're going to be in the same boat as the characters. Sit back and enjoy the ride together. Don't worry, you'll like it.

One last thing about this chapter, those "J" names are all cannon, its not my lack of creativity. My only take on the matter is the seventh, whom I have branded "Jud." (This will make sense eventually. Promise.)****

**Now in coming up: Raven waking up, Raven freaking out, Raven learning how to handle her new self under Azar's guiding light. Will Raven see through the disguise? Will she finally get to go back out into the field? Will she and Jinx screw each other senseless? Probably not. But they _might_ just have their first romantic moment... especially now that the Tots are gone, happily staying at wherever that place is that they're staying. For now. **

**Things in the near distant future: Nightwing leaving the Titans. Bedtime brawls. First kisses. Last kisses. betrayal and revenge. AND maybe a few closer looks at some of the other characters inside the Tower. Just for fun.**

**Well thanks for reading dear reader, and happy trails!  
>Review if you want to. <strong>


	8. Bloodied Snow

**Hello once again dear readers. I apologize for the length of this chapter, but I won't be able to write for a few days and I thought it unfair to leave you with nothing for your trouble. This is unedited so there are probably errors, please excuse them for this chapter.**

**Also, there seemed to be a problem the last time I tried to upload this chapter, as most of you weren't able to read it, so let's see if this helps any, mmm?**

** So in this mini-chapter, Raven pretty much wakes up and freaks out. And there are comfort kisses. **

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><p><em>The snow was soft. She ran her fingers though it, unable to feel the cold, smiling gently. She blinked slowly as the flakes settled on her eyelashes, the small smile unfaltering. The light glittered across the frozen droplets, turning an ordinary substance into trillions of tiny dreamlike gems. The light was also warm. So very pleasantly warm on her face; her back cushioned comfortingly against the snow. She stared into the endless sky for a few moments until a strange sound filled the land and a warm wet feeling on her skin. She turned her head to the side and was surprised to see her hands covered in blood. The droplets dripping into the snow beneath her. startled she turned her head away and immediately wished she hadn't as the blood red sky caught her attention. As the sky turned cloudy and violent with storms and lightning, the cruel laughter turned into a terrible thunder. She sat up in panic and caught site of her hands as she did so; it was only when she saw the claws that she begun to scream.<em>

Raven opened her eyes as the shaking brought her out of her nightmare, her screaming dying down as she was met with the pair of eyes she had so unhappily convinced herself that she would never see again.

"My child."

It was only by the sheer force of her own unwavering will that Raven stopped herself from fainting. As it was her mouth fell open in shock of its own accord and suddenly the Titan felt small and lost now that she was certain the figure in front of her wasn't a dream. Shaking her head, she quickly struggled to regain her composure in front of her mentor from long ago.

"A-Azar, -I mean –that is, y-your highness-"

"Hush my child. You are safe. Still having nightmares are we, my little one?"

Raven's cheeks tinged in the beginnings of a blush. It wasn't often that she had faltered in front of the powerful woman, if she ever had. In her defense, the matriarch had also never popped into her life with the Titans. They hadn't even communicated in the past odd years or so, to be honest she didn't even know the woman had known that she was alive. Her father. Raven's posture straitened immediately, she had to inform her mentor of the events of her birthday those terrible months ago.

"Your grace," Raven began quietly; true, she had always referred to the woman by her name during her time on Azarath, but that had been many years ago when she had been a child and she did not know whether to do the same would still be appropriate, "On the day the world was destined to en-"

Here she was cut off with a small chuckle to the empath's surprise, "You banished Trigon the Terrible, ruler of the Seventh Hell. I know my child. Have peace," she revealed, and then her face grew dark, "I am sorry my child, but the reason for my being here is not…pleasant."

Raven bit her lower lip, with hesitation she brought herself to ask, "Has there been another prophesy?"

"No need to look for one I'm afraid," the godlike woman replied, with a regretful moan she pulled the girl to her breast in an embrace, startling the psion before continuing, "I had so hoped fate would rest its fascination with you my child, I had held so much hope…alas. Wishing things does not simply make them so…" she drew the girl away and continued, "Fortune has conspired once more against you my child, thricely so."

"W-what do you mean," Raven worriedly asked, temporarily forgetting her manners in her flustered state, her mind already whirling with possible situations each more dire than the first.

"Why my dear girl, take a look at yourself for a start."

Raven froze her gaze on her mentor, now terribly afraid of what she might see if she were to look anywhere else. With an almost unnoticeable gulp, Raven steeled herself against whatever she might find and looked down at herself. She seemed normal enough, although her hair had grown a lot and she brought her hand up to swat it out of her way when her brain called her to pause. That wasn't her hand. At a subconscious twitch Raven realized in horror that yes, yes it was. Her hair started to stand on end and the room's objects started to rattle. Raven immediately went to get off the bed to take stock of the rest of herself, and ended up tumbling to the floor as her center of gravity was vastly different and a strange weight hadn't helped either.

In panic (as much as she could panic) Raven began to turn over only to stop as she felt an unfamiliar jarring sensation in her body that she had been unaware that she had. She craned her head to see the problem and all color drained from her face as she took in the cause. At once all of Raven's emotions and energy simply drained away and she hung her head. She didn't need to check herself for the spade tipped tail, pointy horns or cloven hooves that were probably there as well. She had become what she had feared most. The thought, the realization, passed quietly through her head. The only thing she felt was a twinge of laughter at the fact that she didn't even have heart enough to cry.

Azar let the child lay there for a little while, but grew soon grew impatient and cleared her throat. Raven filled with shame and couldn't bring herself to move. The matriarch tsked and crossed her arms, "if you are going to lie there for the rest of eternity I shouldn't have bothered coming. Get up child."

Raven slowly started to pick herself up off of the floor, cautiously learning her new body's way of moving. Eventually, she was standing, though her eyes were still cast upon the floor.

"Really now, your world is once again in danger and all you care of is your appearance? Vanity is most unbecoming of you child. I thought I had taught you better than that."

The jibe broke raven out of her stupor and she looked back on her mentor once more in resigned anticipation and dread; "I am sorry your grace, you and the monks had taught me better. I do not know what befell me to forget your lessons," she tipped her head in a small bow and continued, "Please, enlighten me as to why you are really here."

Azar nodded to herself, her mouth set in an unreadable manner; "I expect you to redeem yourself on your own accords and I shall overlook your insolence as this all must be shocking to you. Do not let it happen again. You must stay strong for what is to come, nay, grow stronger. Your body had fluxed in accordance to that which you now wield, and you must wield it against a deadly foe."

"My father?"

"No child, your brothers."

Raven was once against speechless, though her mouth had the decency to remain closed this time as she took in the news. Brothers? But her mother had only bore her. she had been the only one as far as she knew. Had Arella bore more while she was away at Earth? No, that was impossible. Azar wouldn't have allowed it, certainly, and at the very least if it had happened, she would have been notified.

"Azar, please your grace, I do not understand…"

"Trigon sired more than just you, child, sons almost your age and all have their own hellish abilities. You were merely the first. The strongest. You and your odd companion were both attacked by them."

"Attacked?" the empath reiterated questioningly before hastily pardoning herself and adding the proper terms of respect to her mentor. The winged matriarch nodded.

"She was caught in a nightmare of her own heart's dark desire. She wished her replacement ill and ill befell her, if only in the little mage's mind."

Mage? She must be speaking of Jinx, the empath realized. She had been attacked? Was she alright? Was she…changed as well? She didn't dare bring herself to interrupt the queen however.

"You child, were attacked as well. It was the key in finalizing what your body had already been attempting to attain."

The horned empath nodded, her tail flicking unconsciously. After a few minutes Raven asked respectively, "Who are they?"

Azar drew back and closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought before opening her eyes again, secretly hiding her inner mirth, "There are six. All of whom have taken up arms as the sins that they so vividly resemble and each from a different dame. Wrath, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, and Lust. You, child," Azar continued, staring into Raven's violet irised eyes, "Are the first sin. Pride."

Raven managed to keep herself from choking and nodded for her mentor to continue.

"Each has their own talent, and you child possess a great deal of them."

"What…what do they want Azar?"

"Power. Death. Destruction. They want all that their sire has to offer."

Raven nodded again unsure what she should say coupled with the strange feelings stirring deep inside her gut.

"What must I do?"

"Accept the powers you hold and your heritage. This is all I know. The rest is up to you."

"But Azar!" Raven mewled, "I have always sworn against my father, against his poer, his corruption. I …I'm not supposed to-"

"Daft child," the matriarch roared, causing Raven to stumble back in shock at her raised volume; "You were taught this to stop Trigon the terrible from destroying Azarath and you Earth. You have. He is no longer the threat. You must adapt and survive or else perish alongside the rest of your new planet," she said angrily. She closed her eyes tightly and took a few breaths as Raven held her crossed hands to her shoulders. Patiently, Raven waited for the godlike woman to speak. When she didn't but instead walked silently out of her room the winged empath crumpled to the floor in a heap and began to cry.

She was a demon. The thought kept repeating and twisting inside of her brain and caused her gut to get tighter and tighter until she couldn't even breathe. That was alright, demons _didn't need to breath, they didn't need anything humans did. Oh God, she was a demon. Oh God, Heaven couldn't help her, never would, she was a demon_. _She didn't even_ deserve _Heaven's Grace, oh Trigon damn her, she was a demon. _She clutched at her head, and when her hands met ebony bone she cringed and wept herder._ She was demon sired by the devil himself. And there were other's…of her blood. _Her eyes snapped open in a startled panic at a light touch on her arm.

Raven pulled away and attempted to make herself as small as possible, hoping to whatever higher power that would care for her now, that she could just be left alone. The touch came again, stronger, and it gently pulled her into a pair of arms. She closed her eyes. She didn't want anyone to see her like…_ Like what? Like what you've been the entire time? So let them see. Go on coward, show them what you really are. Tell them how you've been lying this whole time. _She mewled a tiny _"No."_ _I haven't lied to them. I told them. They knew I was a devil spawn._

The arms held her tighter and she felt their face bury into the hollow of her neck and shoulder. Their breath tickled her skin, but she was so far inside her own mind she couldn't notice it. Instead she only quivered, her thoughts tumbling and stinging with greater venom than even Trigon's words had been.

"Raven…"

The voice was soft and aimed into her ear. The deviling shivered, whimpered, turned her head away as best as she was able. Her feathers made tiny jostling noises as they too quivered in turmoil. The voice spoke again, softer. _She didn't deserve kind words or comfort. Demons did not get comforted when they cried or held when they were scared. They were taught to push everything away for the sake of those around them. Those who hated mocked and jeered. She had to return to the grey world, had to push everything away, had to keep her friend sa-_

The kiss broke all strands of her thoughts. Barely a whisper against her skin, a kiss of compassion. Another tiny display of affection was granted her. Another. The kisses were soft, undemanding and offered nothing more than comfort. Forgiveness. Understanding. Acceptance. Raven could not stop the tears that started to freely flow. It was all she could do to keep the Tower from imploding. Her body shook and still the arms held her, the kisses came. Raven's sobs racked her body and she was fairly certain that someone was sitting on her tail, though she couldn't be sure who. As her powers began to build up all the empath was able to do was mewl a tiny, ragged, "Jinx."

The kisses were slightly stronger, still accepting. Still comforting with the form of connection that the empath both despised and desired the most. The hex caster offered no words, she knew there was little she could say that would set the demonical angel in her arms at ease, she could only hold her friend and pray to whoever watched out for outcasts such as themselves, that somehow everything would be alright again. The pair remained there, on the girl's floor, battling against a storm eventually tired itself out. The empath stopped shaking, stopped crying, stopped doing much of anything at all, exhausted beyond her capability to cope. The witch rocked the girl gently, her face still tucked against the empath, her neck tickled by Raven's feathers. Every once in awhile the catlike meta would plant another tiny kiss and eventually the empath relaxed against her.

"…Thank you…" Raven whispered, barely audible. Jinx said nothing in reply but closed her eyes and continued to hold her friend as they sat on the floor.

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><p><strong>First RavenxJinx moment for the win? Not really. Still at the friendly stage. But we're getting there. Well, THEY are getting there technically speaking. <strong>

**So now we all know pretty much happened and what's going on, and vaguely where this story might go. **

**Also, Raven being unable to see Azar for who he really is? Well, she's in a lot of shock and pain right now. Let's give her a little time and see. Her whole world has just crumbled down on top of her again after all. **

**Next chapter, which I was originally going to post along with this, shall be up (hopefully) by the end of the week. **

**I don't own own Teen titans but review if you'd like and happy reading!**


	9. Face to Face

**Sorry for the delay, but life happened and things for reasons and stuff.**

**In any case, here's the next addition to the story; it's a tad on the short side but it still serves it's purpose. Hopefully. ****Also, I apologize for the appalling number of errors in the last min-chapter; that'll teach me to rush things won't it? **

**In this mini-chapter: Jinx goes to jail. **

**I do not own anything, so please don't sue. I'm broke. It isn't worth it. **

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><p>"<em>Dude,<em> how many times do I have to tell you, _I don't eat meat_!"

"Then quite complaining and let _me_ eat it, ya mouthy grass stain."

"Dude, that's _so _disgusting, I mean, it's _looking_ at you…" said the changing, eyeing the anchovy with a hint of nausea.

The tin man popped it down and smiled before replying with glee, "I like to point 'em down head first so they know which way to crawl…"

He started laughing as the green teen ran to the bucket in the corner of the kitchen. It had been placed there after the fourth such incident or so. As Cyborg wiped a well earned tear from his regular eye he sniffed lightly, still chuckling to himself and turned when he heard the steel doors to the hallway open up.

"Hey Jinxycat, why the long face?"

The hexcaster huffed and slowly made her way over to the kitchen, frowning slightly when she noticed Beast-Boy still recovering in the corner; she looked at the mechanical Titan expectantly, who only shrugged before giving her a grin. When the nimble feline-like meta failed to assume her usual upbeat attitude Cyborg frowned a bit before crossing his arms.

"I'll bite. What's the matter?"

"She says she isn't going to leave her room for a while. And she's going to be training with her mentor from now on too…" she trailed off in tired sadness.

"You mean Lil' Rae?"

The hexcaster nodded warily before plopping herself onto one of the barstools. She gave herself a good spin, moreso from habit than anything else and sighed when it came to a stop. Beast-Boy, having recovered, meandered over to the fridge in order to find something to cleanse the ungodly taste from his mouth. Jinx gave him nod as he walked passed and began kicking her feet back and forth.

"Well, she usually knows what's best for 'erself so I wouldn't be that worried," the mechanical Titan mused, "she has been through a lot lately though, so I don't blame you for bein' concerned for the girl."

Jinx spun around to face the Titan again, her face scrunched in scrutiny, "She was crying Stone, and I don't mean little baby tears either. I thought she was going to break in two."

"_Dude_, she was _crying_?" Garfield gasped as he walked back over to them and forgetting about the drink, "She _never_ cries. Not 'cept that time at her birthday…and, you know, prolly after that evil dragon guy dumped her… and technically when we were inside her head… but _still_."

Cyborg shot a look at the changeling but nodded in silent agreement before returning his focus on the downtrodden and droopy haired witch in front of him. Truthfully, he was just as concerned for the demonling as the felineish-meta human was, not that he'd readily admit it however, for there was a delicate line one had to trod when dealing with the empath, and he was reluctant to shift any weight and snap more threads than it appeared his leader had already done.

Jinx, not noticing the metal man's mood continued, "And that Azar lady is creepy. Like I swear she stares into your soul and sucks it dry whenever she looks at you… Did you guys see the way she looked at us in the medbay yesterday?"

"Well, to be fair, she _is_ the closest thing to a mother Raven had an' she's been a ruler for like _centuries_. She's gotta know what she's doing," Garfield replied, once again picking up his drink and taking a sip; "Defiantly see where Raven gets her cold shoulders from though."

"Yeah but…that doesn't mean she can just…waltz right in here and…and..." Jinx frustratedly trailed off with a sigh, "besides," she added as an afterthought, "whose gonna be my partner if Ravie stops playing hardball with the rest of us?"

"I guess ya could ask Wonder Boy about it all," said Cyborg, "He should know what to make of all this."

Jinx nodded and stole Beast Boy's drink, taking a swig for herself before making a face, spitting it out and sliding the glass back, only to have the shapeshifter laugh at her.

"The hell is that?" the hexcaster cried indignantly while wiping her mouth clean.

"_Soy milk_, dude, _soy milk_," he replied while chuckling.

Jinx smirked in reply before turning back to the mechanical Titan; "So when's Blunder Boy coming downstairs?"

"Never," came a reply from behind sliding metal doors, causing the others to look.

Richard Grayson walked into the room casually, his normal costume replaced with one of black and blue. He walked over to the dining table, took his usual seat, and plopped his chin on a gloved fist; "Who wants to know?"

Jinx recovered first and answered eloquently, "Raven's going to be training with her mentor lady. The _fuck_ I'm supposed to do? And the fuck'r'you wearing _that_ for?"

Nightwing scratched his chin before glancing from Cyborg to Beast-Boy and back to Jinx. He sat straighter, his leader habits kicking in, and cleared his throat; "I thought it was time for a costume change. Call me Nightwing. You can join the other groups temporarily as needed. When Raven's back in action you can take it from there. Also, you should probably take some time to see Angel and the others for yourself. If you're still interested that is. You can take Donna with you if you need to. She's off duty today."

The hex caster nodded, knowing the offer was more of a polite order than an innocent suggestion; most of her attention was still focused on the bleaker outfit of her leader to come up with any snappy reply.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" the leader asked suddenly.

"A little, why?" Jinx asked, a bit startled.

"No reason. You just look a little tired under the eyes. Make sure you get a good night's rest tonight if you can. You never know when you might need it."

Jinx nodded again and yawned, the mention of sleep triggering it automatically. Nightwing smiled good naturedly and folded his arms on the table. After a few moments he tilted his head and asked, "How's she holding up?" in reference to the dark Titan.

Jinx swished her legs and regarded the faded stripes on her socks before replying quietly, "She seemed pretty beat up about everything. Cried for awhile too. I didn't really know what to do so I just stayed there… she probably hates me for it," she finished somberly, her drooping a bit more.

"She might," Richard offered, causing Jinx to look up at him in shock, "but with all your one-in-a-million-chances I'm pretty sure she'll be more grateful to you than angry."

"But that's just it Boss, I didn't _use_ my powers on her. I never _have_. Not since I broke out of the H.I.V.E. anyways. Well not intentionally anyway, if I have I mean. That is-"

"-Relax Jinxycat," Cyborg ordered, giving the girl a rather forceful slap on the back, "You're on Rae's goodlist. It'll take a lot for her to cross you off, even _if _you saw her cry."

"You think so?" she asked while rubbing the bit of her back she could reach.

"Hells yeah, I mean, she used to cry down in the garage sometimes, now mind you this was before her birthday and I hadn't been her BFF Jill or anything-"

"Dude, you mean BFF _Jinx_," the changeling interrupted with a toothy grin.

"That one was _almost_ clever. Except for, ya know, you're an _idiot_," Cyborg retorted, earning a couple giggles from the hexcaster and a smirk from their leader before continuing, "anyways, like I said. It'll take a lot more than bein' there for her to make her hate ya. Just as long as ya stay away from telling brain dead jokes like Mr. Hilarious over here you should be fine," he finished, giving a nod at the green Titan with a smirk.

Relieved, Jinx nodded happily. She would go to with Donna and have a chat with her old team. Raven would get the hang of...well...whatever it was that the empath had going on, and she would continue to make herself useful. Plus, she figured, it beat hanging around a kitchen that smelled like veggie-barf. As the metahuman scampered off, her pink hair in its trademark positioning once more, the boys around the kitchen immediately set back to continuing the most important task of the day: making breakfast. Jinx chuckled to herself as the near traditional argument sparked once again behind her.

She found Donna easily enough, simply banking on the superhuman to be in her room, and fluxing her powers. A few pulled strings here and there after all helped to keep her skills sharp, as she liked to think. She knocked on the door a few times and stood back, unintentionally rocking on her heels in habit with her hands clasped behind her back in anticipation. Wonder Girl opened the door and was almost surprised to see the pink haired meta before her.

"Can I help you?" she asked good-naturedly.

"Eeyup. Birdy Boy said you gotta take me out for a spin in the slammer, probably ta make sure I don't pull a swap and do stupid shit while I reconcile with my past and all that jazz."

Donna nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the meta's odd choice of words; "Are we flying or…?"

"No offense, but I like to keep my feet planted on the ground if I can help it. Too many things that could go wrong otherwise…"

"Walking it is," Donna agreed, "Unless Cyborg offered the car?"

"Nope, she's still dry locked until the Tinman slaps another coat of polish on her," the cat eyed girl replied dramatically.

The two made their way to the city, taking the underground tunnel out of the garage. Mostly silent, the two elected to focus their attentions on things besides themselves, Jinx on the view outside of the glasslike walls into the ocean beyond and Donna contemplating what the winds of fate might hold in store in the near future. Eventually, the pair made it to the Jump City Penitentiary and Meta-Human Containment and Prosecution Center. The name _still_ left a bitter taste in the young hexcaster's mouth. All at once, she was suddenly grateful for Wonder Girl's presence. The sheer number of blue coats was making her nervous, and she had to tell herself repeatedly that she didn't have to worry about them anymore. She couldn't stop her hand from twitching though.

"Donna…" she began quietly as they walked past the automatic doors.

"Yes?"

"All of my warrants are expired right?"

"I doubt Robin would send you here if they weren't."

"Point," Jinx conceded with a nod, "if they aren't though…"

"Then I guess we'll just have to leave you here until it gets sorted out."

Jinx stopped and scowled, "_Thanks_, that _really_ makes me feel better."

Wonder Girl shrugged with a small smirk and continued walking, causing the witch to quicken her pace a bit in order to catch up. After a series of metal detectors, scanners, identification verifications and other miscellaneous protocols that had jinx wanting to slit her own throat, the pair made in into the wards with full permission and access into the H.I.V.E. Fives' cells. As they approached the first one, inhabited by See-More, the notion struck Jinx that it would be entirely too easy to free her old companions. Perhaps even all of the inmates for a large jailbreak that would distract all of the guards, cause a little mayhem in its wake as well. She could be back with her old friends in one of their old hideouts by dinner, planning their next heist and celebrating the stupidity of the Just.

She smiled sadly as the cell door opened, fully knowing that even though the option was there, practically gift wrapped in front of her, she was sticking to her guns. She had come to far this time to go back. If she turned now, neither side would ever fully accept her, or see her as anything but a coward who always played for whichever team seemed to be winning. In her own opinion, she was far better than that. Or at the very least, she _hoped_ she was better than that.

"See-More?" she asked quietly.

He was sitting on the standard issued cot, hunched over with feet dangling. He looked up as she approached and his face lit with a smile before diminishing and his eye turned icy cold.

"Ya know, for a minute there I thought I was getting outta here," he said tossing a glare at Donna, who was standing respectfully, but fully guarding the door behind her should either of the cons in the room decide to try something.

"Sorry mate, not this time," Jinx replied with a shake of her head. She found herself wanting to sit next to him, maybe even give the nerdlinger a hug, but she refrained. She wasn't one of the gang anymore. Forgetting that could potentially get her killed. Wit this in mind, she kept herself a few feet away from him, in case he decided that her visit was overstayed.

"So what'chu come in here for then?" he asked with a sneer.

"The hell if I know," she replied, tugging on her ear. She paused, wanting to say something more, but realized she didn't really have anything to say. She nodded to herself and stood straighter, fixing her posture and assuming an almost businesslike demeanor. "It was fun runnin' with y'all while it lasted."

"It was wasn't it?" the felon agreed, "Too bad your track ran out."

"Oh?" she inquired in reply, to which See-more nodded.

"That Angel gal, she ain't like you. Kinda sucks to be honest. At least _you_ made _sense_. Your shit was all chaos and glamour, but I'd much prefer your screwballish hairschemes than her nutty ideas. At least your plans were fun. Hers are just… I don't know Jinx. They just ain't _right_."

"What da' ya mean they ain't right?"

"Like that bank gig. You know the one where Billy was swinging firepower around like a deranged cowboy? She got guns, Jinx. Connections. I don't know to who but it ain't any of the regulars. And there's one other thing."

"What?"

"This is the _only_ time I'm gonna stick my neck out for you Pinky, so you'd better listen good. Got me?"

The hexcaster nodded quickly.

"There's a price on your head. Major digits. Teach didn't like ya skipping graduation. And I wouldn't talk to the others."

"You mean Giz and Mammy?"

"They were the ones to call first shot at you. You know how family is," he added absently, before flopping back onto the bed, "...Now get outta here. You're ruining my escape plans."

Jinx nodded and cast her old friend a final look. So this was really it, they both thought. The end of her criminal days. As the thick metal door slammed shut behind her, she couldn't help but feel her past doing the same. It left her feeling nauseous and she clamped a hand against her stomach.

"Jinx, you alright?" Donna asked, gripping her shoulder to better steady the hexcaster.

"…Yeah, I'm fine," she replied shakily, "peachy."

She looked up and inspected the massive corridor of prison cells, all cold and metallic. It all seemed so final, so…severe. Had it always been that way? When she had been here it had all been a big joke, there hadn't been a single cell that could hold her for long. She was always the first one out, the first one to plan everything out, the first one to break out the others. She wouldn't ever be doing any of that ever again. She would never steal for the thrill of the high, never stand above helpless civies, cackling as power flowed her veins, never to take on a Titan head to head again.

She would miss it.

With that thought the pink haired witch turned to leave, causing Wonder Girl to look at her in confusion.

"Are we leaving already? We just got here."

"I found out what Blunder Boy wanted to know," she replied, making her way past the guard doors, "Let's go."

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><p><strong>The title of this chapter comes from the Daft Punk song of the same name. I wrote the chapter while listening to it. I always listen to music when I write. It helps me focus. Perhaps I'll start adding which songs I'm writing too from now on. Perhaps not.<strong>

**So, Jinx went to jail, learned a few things, and Donna came along for the ride. Why Donna? Because she's going to get a bit important later to keep with cannon things. **

**Also, Jinx's drastic changes when speaking? Everyone talks differently depending on who they're talking to. being of an adaptable nature, Jinx is no different. **

**Also, Robin is now Nightwing. For good. It had to happen eventually. **

**...**

**At this point in the story, I haven't quite thought out what I intend to happen, so updates might take a bit longer as I piece everything together.**

**Reviews are welcome and much appreciated. They help me get a grasp on how my story is coming along. I do believe a few of you have asked for more interaction with the other characters, particularly those characters interacting with Raven. That should be coming up soon, but not for another chapter or two. I AM keeping it in mind though. it's just that as this story progresses, it's going to get Ravencentric super-quick so I'm kind of pushing her back burner until I get everything else done. Heh, cooking metaphor. XD That's funny because i suck at cooking. True story, even got banned from the kitchen. **

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Lesson's with Azar. And a bit of RavenXJinxy interaction that won't be quite what anyone was expecting. Unless they did expect it. In which case they get a restraining order from my brain. **

**Happy Reading!**


	10. Tainted

**Oh my gosh dear readers! Could this be another update?  
>Why yes! Yes it is!<strong>

**I am sorry for the delay, between redecorating, my annoying relatives and other troubles unnecessary to mention things just got a little crazy.**

**Fear not, I have the next chapter already well under way. **

**I'd like to take this time to say: I OWN NOTHING. DO NOT SUE. **

**In this chapter we see Raven & Jinx coping & learning various things that will probably be very important to know for later on. And ya know, they both end up in Raven's room.**

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><p>Raven gritted her teeth and strained against the pull of the field. It whipped and clawed against her in inanimate protest but the empath refused to falter and only pushed herself all the harder for it. When her vision grew cloudy with tiny white lights, she stopped and collapsed to her knees, thus failing her lesson once again. She silently gasped for breath while struggling to maintain her outwardly tranquil composure; more-so for her own satisfaction then her mentor's. If she <em>had<em> to keep humiliating herself further, then at the very least she could do so with dignity, if grace she could no longer muster.

"Wrong again parum deamonus," Azar chastised from a few feet away, her wings tucked neatly against her well postured frame, "Rise and rursum."

Raven nodded and stood up again, pushing against the floor with her tail to give her more balance. It had been three days now, that she had been trapped inside her own twisted body, and she was _still_ figuring out how to survive within it, which the empath found humiliating beyond measure. Thankfully, after a quick lesson from the green changeling, Raven had been able to retract her claws somewhat which she felt was a nice start, and amazingly, she hadn't inherited her father's hellish footware, but Azar had claimed that both could very well change in time. The wings she was still getting used to and concerned her the most as they interfered with almost every aspect of her life. They made things like sleeping, sitting, and even her choices in wardrobe more complicated then Raven had ever before considered possible. Not to mention they liked to get caught on things, and everytime they did so the psion was filled with fear that the thin membrane like parts would tear and render them useless.

If she _had_ to have them, she should at the very least make the most of them, she had decided stubbornly. Her horns however, she could see no valuable reason for as she didn't plan on headbutting anyone anytime soon and they were extremely aggravating; Azar had stopped her on several occasions from simply snapping them off. They were pretty though, in a strange otherworldly sort of way, and twice she had caught herself nearly smiling at them in her reflection. _Trigon take her_, she _hated_ her reflection. They had never been on good terms to start with -but this- _this_ was grinding lemon soaked salt into the festered wound. She could stand the wings, could tolerate the tail, and even the claws and horns she could overlook… but those _eyes_.

_Her_ _eyes_. They were simply horrid.

Her scleras were completely black instead of the luminous white they had once been. A blood red limbus ringed each iris and they had a habit of flashing whenever her moods sparked. Her irises themselves were still the abnormal violet color that they had always been, and they were almost the only way she was able to recognize her reflection as her own anymore. Her pupils though… they almost scared her. They weren't slitted like a cat's, nor perfectly round like a humans, rather, they were some mix inbetween and each sported a glowing pinprick of red in an infinite sea of darkness beyond the color of black. Azar had told her that they too might change in time but for better or worse she either did not know or had decided not to say. What the godlike queen _had_ told her however, was "_Wer schön sein will muss leiden,_" -those who wish to be beautiful must suffer. A sentiment that Raven had once thoroughly believed after observing the inhabitants of Earth run in circles to attain their unreachable epitome of beauty. She had thought she had been above such petty things as vanity. It was only now that the empath realized her "indifference" had been nothing but self-righteous pride.

The empath shook herself a bit, trying to find her proper posture and kept her head held high in almost proper military formation. She was still _Raven_, and she would continue to behave and act as such. It was all she felt she had left of herself to cling to.

"Pushing child, will only strain you to exhaustion. If you plan to continue fighting against the tide of the ocean, you had better be able to part it in two."

Raven nodded. She would do better this time. She was Raven. Daughter of the Damned and Savior to the city. The heir to both the Seventh Level of Hell and the Firstchair to the Azarathian Council. She had to keep practicing until she succeeded.

"I'm ready your grace," said the empath in reply. The queen nodded and cast the energy field again; it immediately leapt at the demonling, intent binding itself to the empath and cutting off her supply of power to strengthen itself. When she had been little, such a spell would have been easily outmaneuvered by the empath as her black magic had easily staved off similar breeds as the white magic her mentor was currently using. Now however, with her magics demonically aligned instead of righteously attuned, the empath had to relearn solutions to problems that she was embarrassed to be facing. Her mentor was once again teaching her things that most fledglings had already mastered and made no pretense to hide her displeasure to be doing so. It was completely justified in the empath's opinion, as she too was completely fed up with her newfound lack of skill mastery.

With her jaw set in frustration the demonling unleashed a spark of anger, causing her barrier to flash a crimson red that instantly blinded all in the room as it swallowed the white magic, leaving a large space of nether energy in its wake that soon dissipated into nothingness. Raven stared at her Queen in shock. The spellbreaker had been a momentary lapse in her self control.

"I do believe you are finally progressing my child," Azar affirmed, taking stock of the situation. "You have done enough for the moment. I would suggest eating something, and perhaps taking a short rest before your demonic nature decides to do it for you," she suggested, in reference to the spell.

Raven nodded obediently, knowing the suggestion was an order. She quietly left the room, only the gentle swish of her feathers making any real sound at all and she idly wondered how long it would take for her to learn how to quell that sound as well. It was utterly strange for the empath to _hear_ herself. The empath decided to head to the kitchen, as with any luck, remnants of the dinner the other Titans had already consumed would still be there. Then, perhaps after she had eaten, she would manage a moment or two of meditation. A frown marred her face as the thought nagged at her. She hadn't meditated in quite awhile now. It was almost as if it were the day before her birthday again. Perhaps, she thought to herself as she padded past the doors, demons were not capable of meditating… what with the ways their powers worked.

Were they capable of eating? She thought to herself as she headed towards the common room. The many texts she had read suggested that they could, and often did if gluttonous, but none of them ever mentioned weather demons _needed_ to. Not unless they derived their power from it anyway. _She_ certainly had not _felt_ hungry in the last three days. Then again, she had never really been in touch with her own body even when she had been more… _human_ and she had often gone for a day or two without consuming anything other than a cup of her favored tea.

As she walked into the common area, she wondered further to herself, contemplating on weather as her past self she had carried out those humanistic rituals out of necessity or else out of habit. She walked into the pitchblack kitchen and looked around, her eyes not even registering a difference between night or daylight. Her vision just automatically compensated for it.

She had never been much for cooking; her only stab at it ending in horrible panckcake mockeries that only the Tamaranean warrior princess had loved. The others of course were only too happy to cook for her after that, the empath thought, causing her cheeks to flush. Raven's attention then caught on a faint porcelain glimmer on the countertop. Approaching it, she almost smiled; someone had left a bowl of fruit ripe for the taking. And take she would. She selected a red juicy looking apple and, because she still wasn't used to working with her clawed hands and thus afraid of damaging the food in the process, grabbed the apple with her powers and brought it to her eagerly awaiting hands instead.

She was shocked however, when the inky black shadow faded away and a completely rotted fruity _thing_ was left in its wake. Raven gagged a bit as she quickly found out that it smelled as bad as it looked and pitched the offending substance into the garbage. Eyeing the residue on her hand in disgust she meandered over to the sink and turned the faucet on with her clean hand. It was difficult with her claws, but not impossible she found. She let the stream run over her palm and trickle down her fingers as she turned her head to sneeze. Absently, her brain told her that there was something wrong with the water and looked back at her hand to see a rather frightening amount of red liquid. Startled, she immediately pulled her hand away and nearly ripped the knob off the fixture as she pulled her other hand close as well.

As she inspected her hand she noted that she was neither in pain nor bleeding. She looked back at the water that was still running. It _looked_ regular enough. It looked wet and watery. Just like water should in this dimension. Curious, the Titan slowly slid her hand back into the stream and watched in detached fascination as the water once again turned red as it hit her hand. She cupped a little in her palm and brought it to her lips, not at all surprised when she tasted a coppery tang.

To be completely honest, the taste slightly reminded her of the tea she used to drink near constantly. Sharp, bitter, thick, and a touch of sweetness. Perhaps the specific array was the only combination her different halves were able to agree on. She flicked her tongue over the remaining blood absentmindedly as she continued to think. In the prophesy of her Father's rise to power on Earth, one of the warning signs had been the seas turning to blood. Her Father was no longer the threat however, but herself. Her brothers. Perhaps this was nothing more than a more intimate type of vision?

A sharp pain in her hand caused her to jolt slightly; she had bitten herself. Her alabaster skin trickled with tiny red-black rivets of her own blood. She had a feeling that it would not taste as the water-made blood had. Sighing, she wiped her hand on the dark black fabric of her improvised costume. It actually looked far closer to her mentors; it started as a corset with a low cut back for her wings and tapered in two panels, front and back, down to her feet, leaving her legs exposed where her thigh high boots didn't cover. Her shoulders and arms were still bare, and she thoroughly missed her hood and cape. Items which she could not regain until she was at more ease with herself. It was almost all she could do to put on her current attire without shedding the fabric. She would manage though, and eventually she would be able to reclaim more of her standard form of dress.

All of the day's training and self discoveries left the empath feeling very drained, she decided. Maybe it was time to try sleeping again. She still hadn't gotten the hang of it with her new appendages yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't keep trying. Her mentor had told her to attempt it at any rate. She walked back to her bedroom, which she hadn't seen much of since she had woken up with her mentor beside her, and took a look around.

Everything seemed to be as she had left it, and yet, she somehow felt detached from the room she had called her home. The items within the walls were mildly interesting and true, she had some lingering affection for the place, but honestly, it felt as though the room belonged to someone in a past life. _Her _past life. Petty human trinkets held little value to her now. She shuddered to think how her Queen had felt looking around the place. Raven walked over to the dresser and debated on taking her costume off. It was still impeccably clean, it felt rather nice to honest, and she risked the garment's safety should a carless claw or two catch it. Her reflection scolded her laziness. With that, the empath proceeded to slip out of the costume with less grace than was her norm. Satisfied, and feeling rather confident in herself, she opened a draw and fished out a cream colored tank top. She grimaced; it would never fit over her wings… but she supposed it would have to do and managed to wrangle herself into it, the back of the shirt resting on the joints where her back became wings, causing her to shiver slightly as the cold air hit the skin on the bare of her lower-back.

Feeling rather victorious now, the Titan wandered over to her bed and stared at it in contemplation. Laying on her back had proved painful that first night, and her side no better on the second; though, truthfully, that pain could have been better attributed to her magic lesson... She recalled seeing Beast Boy as a gryphon once, sleeping with his wings draped over his back like a blanket, his bird-shifted face resting peacefully between his paws. She smiled to herself, she may not have been a feathered feline, but she was fairly certain a similar position would be satisfactory, and at the very least, less painful. The empath crawled onto the bed and settled down. It took a few tries to make her wings bend the way she wanted, the joints stiff with disuse, and she unused to how they were intended to work to begin with. Still, she soon found herself quite comfortable and tugged one of her pillows to better rest her head and sighed in contentment, her tail flicking back and forth like a sunbathing cat.

A knock sounded at her door, wrestling Raven from her slumber like state, but not rousing her from her bed. She only lifted her head to get a better view of the person walking into her room. She raised an eyebrow at her visitor, having fully expected it to be her mentor or else the leader of her team. The person in question however was certainly not as tall or winged as the Queen nor as masculine or hair-gelled as her leader, and the empath didn't even need to look at the horns to deduce the person's identity. She would recognize Jinx's magic signature anywhere. With a flick of her tail, Raven settled back down, half inclined to go to sleep anyway, visitor be damned.

The hexcaster flicked on the light, causing the empath to blink slowly, her inner eyelids closing horizontally before opening again. Jinx, having seen some pretty freaky shit herself on the streets and in school didn't pay it any attention to it. Instead, the pink haired witch plopped herself on the edge of the bed and tilted her head, to which the demoness only yawned and turned her slightly so that she could see the girl while still keeping comfortable.

"You look like a cat who's eaten a canary."

Raven flashed the meta a smile filled with sharp and pointy pearly white teeth.

"Jeeze," she replied with a start, "keep _that_ up an people will start calling _you_ a Cheshire cat."

The empath smiled, her eyes half lidded and her tail flicking absently; "So to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Haven't seen ya in a couple days Darlin' an I guess I was just wonderin' how you were."

"I'm fine. It'll be awhile before…" Raven shifted a bit and repositioned her wings, snapping them open before furling them again, "before I am used to everything. But something tells me that this was more than a check up call," she continued, her tone changing as she felt Jinx's emotions.

The hex caster nodded and turned to face the empath, sitting on crossed legs, and replied, "I went to see my old friends the other day..."

"You mean the ones we locked up."

Jinx nodded, "Rob- I mean, _Nightwing_, sent me there to get…I dunno, closure I guess…"

At this Raven raised her head, "So he's finally changed then?"

The hexcaster nodded again, "permanently too, said the Bat's even got himself a new Robin, didn't tell us the name of him though."

"That's probably for the best; they take their privacy to a frightening level;" the empath didn't add that they might see him eventually when the Bat decided the boy needed complete training.

"Yeah, well, they do kind of_ have_ to keep on the down low. At least that's what we gathered at the H.I.V.E. when we studied the Gotham baddies. _Man_, some of them sounded so cool… what I wouldn't _give_ to meet one of th-" she paused when she realized what she was saying and shook her head, "I mean, not that I would… not _now_ at any rate that is, but…"

"You looked up to them…" the psion replied evenly, "Tis understandable."

Jinx grinned half heartedly and rubbed her elbow absently, unsure of how to reply. She settled on tucking her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around them, her smile faltering.

"I'm scared."

"Somehow Jinx, I very much doubt that you have anything to fear from the terrors of Gotham."

The hexcaster shook her head a bit her bottom lip, prompting the empath to realize that the witch was actually upset about something feasible and not something like say, mutant killer rabbits. Although, those would if fact be cause for fear, she mentally chuckled.

"…What's wrong?"

Jinx continued to fidget as she thought about what she wanted to say. Raven, confused and almost interested pushed herself into a sitting position, lowering her wings to rest beside her knees; "Come on now, it can't be much worse than say, turning into a demon," said the dark Titan with a smirk.

Jinx smiled briefly, nodded in reply, and said, "Yeah, it would kinda suck worse to wake up lookin' like you," to which Raven darkened, "I mean to think my hair purple," she said in faux-enthusiasm as she preened her prized pink locks, causing Raven to smirk and set at ease.

"I don't know…Color is rather relative after all…"

Jinx giggled and then a few minutes of silence passed before Jinx bowed her head; "I miss it all. The rush especially. But when I walked away from See-More... I… I realized I can't ever go back," she continued, lifting her head, "They got a price on my head now Ravie. He said it was a pretty hefty one too. I told Nightwing about it and he said not to worry too much about it as long as I stayed with the others;" she flopped on her back and continued while looking up at the empath's ceiling, "That's another thing Doll, with you out of commission I haft ta' play third wheel all the time. It's weird. I mean I've been sticking with Vic and Gar when I can but I hate watching the Blondie and the Green Bean for too long if you know what I mean…" she turned over on her stomach, facing Raven with her hands propping up her face, her feet hanging of the bed; "Makes me miss Flashy a bit, you know?"

"I had…wondered…about you two. You've been seeing each other for-"

"-Three months. Just about anyway," the pink hexcaster interjected, "We had a bit of a row though, that's kinda why I accepted Robin's offer. I thought a bit of space would do us both good."

"Has it?" the empath inquired innocently.

"I don't know. He called me a few days after I moved in but I haven't heard from him since…" she confessed, her hair drooping.

"Well, I'm afraid any areas pertaining to emotion or relationships are out of my league so I can't help you there. The price on your head however…is…troubling," the empath replied, her head tilted slightly.

"Yeah…but… I mean you were right Dollface. I could have it a hellava lot worse," she replied, nodding in Raven's direction, "So what's… _what_ with you? Gar said that you had another apocalypse to divert and something about bad bloodlines… Stone just shrugged."

Raven fluffed her feathers and flattened them again as she thought, "I have…" she paused and shook her head before starting again, "My father Trigon sired apparently sired several offspring besides myself. I… I have to stop them at… well, whatever it is that they are planning. I really don't know much more than that. I don't have any prophesies or visions to work from so I'm just… taking everything one step at a time until I do."

Jinx nodded as she glanced over Raven's changed form, making the empath fidget at the attention; "So, does looking like that make your powers stronger or something?"

She meant it innocently enough, but it still left a sour feeling along the empath's spine. She tapped her claws against the bed's comforter, making no sound, and sighed before replying, "It better houses my demonic power, but I've yet to see if any of my powers are actually _stronger_. Although come to think of it, I touched an apple earlier and it rotted instantly…and apparently I turn water into blood when I touch it… so I am going to assume that yes Jinx, my powers are very much stronger. It appears that my flesh has finally betrayed my soul."

"Your…flesh…betrayed…your soul…" Jinx repeatedly slowly, as her eyebows knitted.

"Yes. My flesh –you know, skin and squishy bits? My blood is demonic by my birthright and it was trying to mutate me for years in order to succumb to my Father. Azar and the other monks tore my soul from my body and placed into the space between Heaven, Purgatory and the nine levels of Hell… well, I've managed to _count_ nine levels of hell... There could quite possibly be more. Anyway, because it was separated from my body it could never be tainted along with it. Thus giving me control over myself and making it harder for my Father to influence me."

"I thought your emotions were the problem, not your blood. I'm not even going to ask how a soul gets plucked and placed places."

"No, probably best that you don't. And my emotions _are_ trouble… or… _were_ at any rate. More-so than my blood in fact, as I just said, my soul was ripped from me. My emotions, like my soul, were also taken and given manifestation in my hand mirror. -The silver one you stole from my room when your band of miscreants broke into the Tower…" Raven replied; giving the girl a bit of a glare at the annoyance the memory caused as she floated the tiny hand held mediation tool in front of herself with her powers. She held out the mirror with her inky black soulself for the hexwitch to inspect.

"Heh, what can I say Sunshine, it seemed like a great idea at the time…" the hexcaster giggled, happily looking at her reflection in the glass before asking, "So if your emotions are inside a mirror… how do you _feel_ anything?"

"It's…hard to explain… I would need to teach you Ancient Azarathian and a hefty dose of metamagical-psudophyics to give you any accurate information but... _roughly_ speaking, _very roughly_ mind you, it's… kind of like having someone… like a puppeteer, control some of the little things that you do. A skipping heartbeat; a little burst of adrenaline. If I use my mirror I'm transported inside my own mind, where I can better get a grasp on how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking… what my _emotions_ are thinking…" the empath let the statement trail off into silence. Truthfully she hadn't expected as to what kind of reaction the pink haired witch might grant her confessions and she was interested on how the catlike metahuman would react.

"So how'ya planning on taking showers from now on?" she asked, completely derailing the previous conversation effortlessly.

Raven blinked in surprise at the question before smirking. Jinx was uncanny at turning any unpleasant conversation into a more comical variety of communication. Still, she marked the question as something to get back to, as at _some point_ she would need to know that answer. Jinx giggled to herself and sat up again, reminding the psion once again of just how much insufferable energy the girl always possessed. -If magic were the cause, she _needed_ to know the particular spell. Yawning, the empath stretched her arms over her head, her wings unfurling and then closing again along with her. In doing so her concentration broke and her mirror began its swift descent to the bed. Her thief's instinct kicking in; Jinx caught the trinket in mid air even as Raven panickedly rushed to grab it as well, the resulting combined powers causing a bright multicolored flash to fill the room.

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><p><strong>There is a song called <em>Wer schön sein will muss leiden <em>that is by Oomph. Go check it out. I was listening to it while writing some of this chapter, as I thought it seemed to fit the mood quite nicely. **

**Now...let's see...I know I wanted to say something here... Oh yes.**

**So, Raven isn't seeing Azar as anything but her mentor. In her defense, Lust takes Pride in becoming the desired ideal. In any case, there shall be more to that angle of the story soon. **

**-kudos to those who manage find _all_ the references in my story. There are many. **

**Blah blah blahhhhhhhhh**

**THANKS FOR READING & REVIEWING AND BEING SO PATIENT & SUPPORTIVE WITH ME. **

**Next stop: NEVERMORE. Jinxed flavored.**

**It's gonna be big. **


	11. HeadSpace

**Hello once again dear readers, I bet you think I forgot all about this story, hmm?**

**False. I've been busy with things for reasons and stuff. For example, I went to my first con the other day. had fun. Slept for two days. Ect. Ect. **

**So originally this chapter was going to be uber long and include ALL of what happened but instead I've decided to upload it in multiple chapters, to make it easier for everyone and so you all won't kill me with my own monitor. **

**Please don't kill me btw, I rather like being alive. **

**Also, thank you all once again for your reviews and kind words and helpful hints. I appreciate it more than a dying man appreciates medi-gel. (Mass Effect reference)**

**This story is still on my main burners but I might be writing/posting other things to help me stay focused. I know that sounds odd, but if all you eat is ice cream then your teeth rot and you get a brain freeze. **

****For those of you who are interested, the song I listened to for this chapter was "Rainbow Factory INSANE" by Glockenzero. Yes it's a MLP fanmade song. ...Thing. In any case, feel free to youtube/google it. ****

**Also, I completely understand if you hate/don't understand/want to murder me for this chapter. I had a devil of a time writing it and actually came close to scraping it a few times. But in my art class, I learned to always choose your first choice and to follow your gut. So I'm posting it anyway. **

**In this chapter, Jinx's adventures in the Raven & Jinx meshed headspace land! Yeaaaaaaah!**

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><p>To Jinx, it felt as though she had slid an arm into an electrical socket while someone threw a soundproof sack over her head and then stretched her out like warm spaghetti before flinging her onto a wall to test if she was done or not. <em>By the Gods of Greyskull<em>, she hoped she was done. Time was irrelevant. Direction was irrelevant. _Hell_, what the fuck _was_ direction? Up was purple and west was banana and _someone better grab that number of that ice cream truck_-

-Raven, by far more used to the interdimensional, extastensail, and transrealital travel than her partner, felt the connection as a jumble of associations, colors, and sounds. Her mirror, designed to transport her physical self into her mind, was now trying to compensate for the various magics that were now being channeled into it; Jinx's hex powers, her own demonic, heavenly aligned, and manifested soulself ones, all meshing with the powers the mirror held itself… She closed her eyes and tried to keep as centered as possible, afraid of how the accident would their sanities.

Suddenly everything stopped.

Jinx became aware. Aware of herself and that she was in a place; that was the first thing the hexcaster counted herself lucky for. That meant that she was still alive. She opened her eyes and didn't hurl. The second thing, she groaned internally. She was alive and she still had dignity. BEST. DAY. EVER. She thought with sarcastic glee. The first thing that the pink haired witch _noticed_ when she opened her eyes was that wherever she was, it was certainly _not_ Raven's room. Remembering the conversation that she had just shared with the empath, she could only guess that she had somehow managed to get inside the girl's head through the mirror somehow. She rather suspected her powers had something to do with it and frowned. Taking a wide glance at the empty near pitch black space around her, she became confused. _If this is Raven's head, shouldn't it be filled with… Raveny thinky things? What's headspace supposed to look like anyway? And where is Raven? Did I… break her somwhow?_

Thinking to herself, the cateyed mageling began walking forward, giggling quietly when she imagined the sorts of things the empath might think about. _She probably has tons of things she wouldn't want anyone to know_, she thought to herself as she wondered what this little venture would hold for her. As she did so, the blackness began to take shape, swirling into clouds of various shades of grey. Soon the clouds began to form into more solid things, sculpting into shapes at varying degrees and a path began to form under her feet. After an hour or so of walking, by her own count, the witch found herself walking on cobblestone with a heavy fog surrounding her, which reminded the witch of the streets she used to scavenge. She cocked her head slightly, figuring Raven more for… _grander_ things, deadly, beautiful, and exciting things. Not average kinda boring things.

In the distance she could make out free floating things… some with trees or rocks. Beyond those, the blackness stayed, filled with pinpricks of yellow glowing light. Jinx would have called them stars and planets, were she back in the real world. As it was she tried to keep her attention on where the path was going and rubbed her arms to help warm them up while taking in what little sights there were.

Through the fog in the distance, Jinx was able to make out some kind of large… space. She soon came to a large twisted black metal gate. She pushed open the doors and walked inside, trying not to flinch at the harsh creaking cry the metal gave as the hinges cried their protest. She half imagined it telling her to turn back, but she continued walking, instinct telling her that being moving target was always better than being a sitting one; quickly faceless buildings began popping up, streetlamps, sidewalks and gutters. Curious now, the hexcaster quickened her pace to a job, her breath leaving trails in the erethral mist.

She stopped when she came upon the most terrifying hellish amusement park ride she had ever seen. -Granted, she hadn't actually seen many as she tended to stay away from hexsusceptible machinery that would break at the bat of her eyelashes- It sent shivers up and down her spine and made her eyes grow wide, her pupils rounding out in fear. _She should have known better than to go into a daemon's den,_ she thought to herself as she took in the metallic monstrosity. Holy Hathor have mercy for her, but _by Rama_, did she want to try it out. The feelings of fear and adrenalin were a rush that she had been missing gravely; the tower of promised peril before her was akin to passing out free meth to rave junkies _in their own houses_. Life just didn't _give you_ those kinds of opportunities, not to her anyways -she had always been dealt lemons, which she had promptly used to burns life's house down with after demanding to see life's manager. Squealing with terror-ridden unnatural glee, she raced towards the machine that began to light up as she did so, forgetting past concerns of structural soundness.

It was like a Gyro Tower from where she was standing. It stretched up and up an up into and almost into the blackness. Looking up at it, she could just make out what she thought were the gondolas; only, they appeared to be more like modified UFO model, a whole bunch of cages mounted in a circle around a drive hub connected to the hydrolic arm that she guessed was part of the tower itself. She wasn't really able to tell from the ground. It was stuck in the horizontal position it seemed, which in and of itself wasn't anything odder than anything else going on, and the cages didn't seem lower any. In fact the machine wasn't moving at all. _Maybe there was a button or a lever or something?_ She raced around the base of the tower only to no avail.

Saddened, she sat down for a few minutes, catching her breath, and took a look around the surrounding area. To her surprise she spotted a shadowy briefcase on a shadowy park bench a few feet away. _Why the hell not?_ She asked herself as she quickly skipped over to the bench. She looked the bag over, and deciding that it looked normal enough she snapped opened the lid.

_She really wished that she hadn't done that. _

Spinning around, there were shapes in the mist, in the little townlike area, shumbling towards her. They didn't look right. At all. She felt…_bad._ Just looking at them made her feel coated with grimy ick. This was a nauseous terrified type of bad that had the hair on the nape of her neck standing on end. _What were these things? Emotional baggage? Inner demons?_ Now she was concerned, not scared mind you, just appropriately concerned. She looked to see if any of the buildings would be of use; they were still too… undefined. She looked back up at the tower. It was as good as of a place as any. _But to get up it? _Then she smiled as she mentally kicked herself, _she could climb it._ Thieves can climb anything, given enough time to figure out how, she reminded herself. Which lesson had that been? Oh, one of her own. Right. Yes. She knew that.

The hexcaster sped to the Tower once again and began feeling the metal, testing for any deformities or pre-provided handholds. Almost unsettlingly, the metal rippled and shifted beneath her fingers, causing her to flinch; Jinx smiled in delight as the Tower itself changed to suit her needs. It contracted then expanded, splintering outwards in mathematical precision as the solid steel cylinder transformed into a radialy symmetrical spiderweb-like structure that somehow still managed to support itself and the rest of the ride above. It rather reminded her of a jungle gym, or a Hoberman sphere –only far more risky and better suited to use gymnastics and practice her feline grace with. Throwing a look behind her at the dangerously near bad-feeling-causing-_things_, Jinx started to climb; _swinging, flipping, climbing, slipping, cursing, repeating_, all the way to the top of the ride.

She nearly fell to her death a few times, but the rush was worth it in her opinion, and she wasn't all that sure that it was possible to die in somebody's brain in any case; still, it was with a mix of victorious satisfaction and twinges of regret that she found herself clinging to the radial base. She looked at the gondola cages in a little bit of surprise, as they all seemed to be one massive carriage instead of multiple ones. That _had_ to be a safety hazard. She grinned and looked at the radial arms; perfectly ample roomed for herself to walk across. As long as the ride didn't start up while she was on it, she'd be fine. If it _did _however… Jinx felt another bad feeling. Sure enough, metallic hisses and crunches began to start up, signaling the beginning of the rotation. Normally, in all her experience at parks, or rather, Gizmo and Mammoth's -as they didn't have ride breaking inducement powers, the rotations had always stopped after sixty seconds. Something told her that this ride wasn't like the rides her teammates had rode in glee. And as the ride began to spin she rather suspected that this ride wasn't like anything _anyone_ had ever rode in glee. _Why the hell did Raven even _have_ this in her head?_

The circular cage spun faster and faster, the air funneling and swirling around her. Jinx yelped, but the sound was lost in the fury of the ride and the whiplashes of the angry wind. The hescaster tried to keep from panicking, there was _always_ something; but as the ride continued to spin out of control the oink haired witch began to feel herself sliding along the connecting gear. Worry shot through her, if she slid into the radial hub she would be crushed into a red and pink gooey mess, if she lid into the arms she would get smacked sound be several tons of force and steel only to fall to her doom and whatever was left of her would be left for those bad-feeling-causing-_things_. She did not like any of the outcomes being provided. _She should have known the tower was a trap,_ she cursed at herself. _The empath had probably put it there to keep her brain matters safe,_ Jinx ventured, _but surly the empath had to know she wouldn't be able to resist such temptations? Why would she try to kill her for it?_ Desperately, she clung to the metal beneath her fingers and it took her a few minutes to realize that she could hear screaming. It was as she was sliding completely off the edge of the gear that she realized the scream was her own.

She landed with a thud, but not as painfully as she had anticipated. She opened her eyes and closed them immediately when she saw the sky swirling in front of her. She had by the grace of luck, landed on the cage. _She had to get inside before it tilted her off_. Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head; she was being held in place by the force of the wind and the motion of the ride, lying spread eagle across the bars, which were seemingly unnecessary as there was a wall beneath it; the cage contained a room of some sort anyway. S_he just had to get inside it,_ she thought as she struggled to turn herself over. She spotted what looked like a suicide handle to an old ford she and the boys once took for a whirl. She reached out to grab it, struggling as she did so, and the hexcaster grinned in triumph when her fingers finally snapped around the handle.

Almost immediately the ride tilted and Jinx slid, hand inside the handle twisting painfully and then she was hanging from the small device hundreds of feet in the air, all the while still spinning along with the massive machine. _She was never going stepping foot into an amusement park again._ Her grip began to falter as her hands became sweaty. _SHIT. No. Not like this. For the love of all, NOT LIKE THIS._ Panicking the witch threw her body weight up and caught the handle with her other hand and braced her feet in the spaces between the bars of the cage. She was beginning to get extremely queasy, and she could feel all of her blood rushing around in her head. She hoped it wouldn't kill her. Swallowing the bile rising in her throat, she opened her eyes and blinked the wind-caused tears away as best as she could and the hexcaster was able to make out what looked like the top of an elevator's escape door. The ride was continually tilting and spinning now and it would be a matter of luck to pull off her plan. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she lifted her feet free of the cage, causing her body to fling sideways, and cried out as the pain tore through her arms. She shot a hew bolt as the door and it blasted inwards. The air immediately began sucking into the compartment to equalize the pressure and as the ride tipped vertically –holding the hexcaster upside down in the process- she reached out and grabbed the rim of the hole before the ride continued tilting in reverse, causing her palm to catch against the sharp jagged edges and cutting her skin painfully. The inertia of both her actions and the ride's however was enough to force the witch the rest of the way into the opening and she hit the floor with a thud.

She stayed where she fell for what seemed like both years and minutes, panting, her head spinning, her stomach nauseous and violently protesting. She turned her head as her stomach rejected all of its contents. Then she noticed that the room wasn't spinning. She looked up confused, but still weak, and saw that the world outside was just the same as she had left it. It _felt_ like the room wasn't spinning, when apparently, it _was_. The thought made her queasy all over again. She just wasn't _trained_ for this sort of thing. Show up yes. Rob things fine. Act mean sure. But getting sent inside a daemon's head and survive Hell's finest fatal attraction? No. Ah-Uh. Nope. _Never ever ever doing this again._

She shuddered as she sat up and took in her surroundings. Glass panels everywhere. They lined the walls in perfect precision and vaguely reminded the girl of a Funhouse of Mirrors. Not that she was having any fun now, she thought as she stood up. _Was Raven having fun?_ Jinx certainly hoped so; she damn well wasn't going to have done all this for _nothing_.

She walked over to the nearest one and looked at it closer; she was surprised to see pictures moving in it, like a movie. She didn't recognize what any of it was however. There were people it looked like, in dark red cloaks and hoods... she leaned in to see better, and some were carrying torches and they were all gathered around some sort of Altar it looked like. She watched for a few seconds and shook her head. She turned away and kept walking down the hall like room. As she passed by she snuck peaks at what the different mirrors were showing until one in particular shocked her into stopping. She rushed over to it and stared as her five year old self was getting stoned out of a village. She remembered that. That was _her_. But what was _she_ doing _here_? Jinx watched her memory played out in a mixture of fascination and horror until it finished. The glass cleared for a few seconds, showing Jinx's reflection, before clouding and repeating the memory.

_The other ones must be Rae's,_ she realized. Did that mean that the empath was in here somewhere? Her face brightened at the prospect. _Surly she would know how to get the hell outta this place! _And if not, the company of a familiar face would certainly be more agreeable. Jinx started to race down the corridor in excitement but quickly found herself distracted by the memories playing seemingly at random and in a few seconds she was walking once more, pausing in front of each one…

A tiny long haired Raven in white robes being taught to float little celestial decorated spheres by a detached monk. Herself being bullied in India by angry villagers and their children. A young empath watching what Jinx guessed to be Raven's mother from a window stories above the busy streets below in solemn silence, her hair short and her robes black. Herself in an alleyway, fighting with a small group of men nearly twice her size and the injuries resulting from it… _She had gained quite a few scars that way_. Suddenly remembering her hand, she looked down and tore a piece of her shirt off and wrapped it around the bleeding flesh as she continued to the next row of mirrors.

Raven waking up chained to a giant stone dragon in front of Brother Blood. Jinx shivered, knowing that _that _memory was both painful and particularly private. She shuddered knowing that her Headmaster had been into such…_dark matters._ It had been a miracle that she and some of the other brighter students had gotten away when the warning signs cropped up. Many, many others weren't so fortunate. How the old geezer had discovered the Church of Blood she'd never know. Demons just found willing souls, she guessed. She turned her head as the screaming began and walked to the next mirror. If she thought it would help, she would have hexed the awful reminder into smithereens, for _everyone's_ sake. As it was, she still had no idea what was going on, what the mirrors technically were, or what so much as touching them did. She might have caused Raven and herself to become insane simply by watching the damn things. _Not that she was all there to begin with, mind you_; Jinx grinned. Sanity was such a relative thing after all…

The next mirror was better, and almost pleasant. It was the first day she had been at the H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young Students. She smiled a little; that had been before the takeover, back when all the school did was train mercenaries instead of villains. She passed on and was surprised to see a memory of her own through the emapth's violet eyes. She was talking to Flash, after the defeat of the brotherhood of evil, and Raven seemed to be watching in detached interest. Jinx felt it mildly disorientating and slightly off-putt for some reason.

Feeling like she had seen enough she moved to look into the next one and bumped into something. Rubbing her nose she looked at what she had hit and was overcome with relief.

"Ravie, oh boy have I never been happier to see you Dollface-" she began, stopping when she realized that the empath wasn't paying any attention to her. She was staring into the mirror in front of her, her expression unreadable. Jinx, curious as to what it would contain stole a peek and felt her face flush in embarrassment. It was the moment she had held Raven as she had drowned her world in tears.

"I was really sad then, like I would never be happy again…" the empath said in a tiny unRaven-like voice, causing the hex caster to look up at her, startled. It was then that the mage noticed her partner's grey-clad figure. It was missing several new appendages. _Had Raven managed to fix herself_?

"When I think about it I still get really sad…"

"Well Darlin… You kinda have a right to, I think. Say… um… Call me curious, but I think you're back to normal Dollface," Jinx replied.

Raven looked at the witch sadly in reply; "I do have right to be sad. I _am_ Sadness. Regret. Misery. Fear. Self-Doubt. Hopelessness…" she trailed off, only to look back at the memory, "I have never changed from this, and I never will…"

"Gee Sunshine, ain't that a tad harsh? You seemed pretty happy before we popped into your noggin, right?"

The pale violet haired girl shook her head and sighed brokenly, causing a ripple of pain through Jinx's chest. When the hexcaster put her hand to her chest as if to stifle the feeling, she forgot of her injured flesh and the pain was switched. Oddly, Raven too hissed as if she could feel the sting of the cut. After it dulled Jinx cradled her arm to cease a similar occurrence from happening again and Raven looked at her with her infamous piercing stare.

"You are injured. I am sorry...Ididn'tmeanforyoutoge hurt…" the empath quickly sputtered, her words spilling fast, "AndI'msorryforeverythingelsetoo, like , -"

"RAVEN," Jinx snapped, to save herself a headache. If there was one thing she hated, it was trying to figure out what speedtalkers were saying. It had been one of the reasons she and Flash had fought so much. She shook the thought of Wally away and a soft strangled sound caught her attention. The psion was crying. Immediately her anger drained away into concern as she felt herself grow cheerless; she hadn't expected the girl to be so fragile...

"Shit Ravie, I didn't mean it like that…" she began stepping forward to comfort the girl only to have the dark Titan step back in stumbling fear.

"Come on Rae, I'm not going to hurt ya or anything. I didn't mean to yell… I just can't fast talkers, that's all…"

"I-I s-sorr-rry," the teary-eyed girl managed to bleat out at a slower pace; the sight only made the hexcaster feel worse.

"Don't be sorry, it's my faul-" she began only to stop when the grey cloaked girl disappeared through the floor.

"-Well _fuck_."

With that, Jinx sighed and rubbed her elbow with her good hand. The _Hell_ was she supposed to do now? _The Hell_ happened to Raven? It was like she was a… a… completely… different…person…

Oh. _So that's what._ The girl she had run into had probably been one of her friend's emotions, she realized with a start. Raven had said they had their own forms or something like that. She was going to bank on the grey-girl being something like Droopey or Buzzkiller, she thought with a grin. No doubt of course the real Raven had probably assigned them all _proper_ labels though... The hexcaster sighed and walked forward; she didn't look into any more memory-mirrors as she was too busy thinking of Exit Strategies and Raven's emotes. Unfortunatly, she found herself so wrapped up in them that when she walked into one she barely had time enough to register the feeling before another sickening wave of distortion ripped though her worn frame.

She resisted the urge to vomit once again and found herself quite suddenly in the most horrible place she could ever recall. …Except, she was certain that _she_ wasn't the one recalling it... Before her was a rundown building. She didn't know it…but she also _did._ This was weird. _Was this one of Raven's memories? _Jinx tried to walk but found herself immobile, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as the scene before her began to unfold.

She wasn't in control of her body, her actions. She found herself speeding toward the building with a mixture of dread and desire. She could _taste_ something in the air that was drawing her in, like a shark to bleeding waters. A snap and a figure in her peripheral vision caused her body to turn around, only to find nothing there at all. Her body tensed. Raven apparently hadn't liked the occurrence. She scanned the area, and then Jinx's stomach lurched as Raven called forth her powers to sweep the area. It was so strange to _feel_ her powers from her own hands. The shadowy darkness felt like a living breathing thing, an extension of herself and yet something foreign and tainted, like a parasite. _No wonder Raven's always moody. This stuff feels like shit. _She spotted something on the roof of the building and immediately levitated her way up, shields glowing. When she reached the top however, something attacked her from the back and she was pushed forward onto the roof, skidding across broken shingles and skinning most of the skin that contacted with it.

She spun around unnaturally, the darkness springing forth to aid its master as her fangs bared and her eyes grew red. The attacker was pale skinned, two sets of cruel red eyes with a fanged-smile to match and cropped black hair which sported pointed ears. His face was the only thing she was able to register before he blurred and a sharp pain connected to her ribs. She fell onto her back and the demon was upon her, his breath heavy on her face; Jinx wished desperately to hex him but she could only turn her head as Raven had done and reach for her communicator. Her hands never made it however as the boy slapped them away; she growled and threw him off, surprising Jinx, she hadn't known Raven had super strength listed in her arsenal of talents. She stood up quickly as he landed and righted himself; she took the few precious seconds allowed to summon her powers and bring up a shield as he barreled into her. They wrestled for a few moments until her vision started changing, catching her off guard. Jinx could feel every bits of the empath's rage building up and coiling inside of her; it was a molten hate that drove her forward with a heavy punch, catching the male demon square in the jaw.

Instead of going down, he only laughed an evil, horrible laugh that the hexcaster instantly recognized, caught his balance and looked at her with a strange mix of emotions that Jinx couldn't read. Raven seemed to do so just fine however and she could feel the dark Titan tense up, her ribs aching, her palms bleeding. She rushed him and instead of hitting him or using her soulself, Raven had decided to use her demonic heritage and stuff that felt like lightning splintered out of her hands and into her opponent. Jinx found herself wanting to scream at the pain of the red magic; her own powers were slightly warm, but this felt worse than the burns she attained when she had cradled the Titan in the tub. Her attacker fell off the roof and Jinx felt Raven's body relax after taking a few seconds to see if the four eyed boy would get back up. She walked over to the edge and cautiously looked down.

Jinx screamed internally as she felt Raven being pushed off the edge from behind with a stunner spell. Elemental based magic she could work with, and it was maddening to think the psion would fall for such an obvious trap. Of course, Raven hadn't ever been properly trained for actual combat like she and her classmates had, but still. It was downright _tacky_. She expected better of the empath. She was smarter than that. Why had she allowed this guy to get the better of her? She stopped complaining when they stopped falling however; they hit the top of the steps and tumbled their way down in a broken and bloody heap. Raven began to go unconscious, her eyesight fading, and Jinx, wide awake was suddenly terrified of being trapped in the dark confines of raven's memory. The four eyed face seeped into her blurry vision however, distracting her thoughts, and leaned over. Jinx didn't register the pain of the bite because Raven hadn't, but she knew that it still happened. What she did register however, was that when the face pulled away, it wasn't the same. It was blue eyed, fair skinned and sported long beautiful glowing hair. _Azar._ _Azar was the one to attack her. I have to remember that. I have to tell the others before something worse happens. _

Jinx fought frantically to move, to speak, to do anything, as she felt herself slipping from the memory; the world around her was spinning and swirling like mist and she could feel herself being ripped from Raven's body. It felt like someone was grabbing her, dragging her back into the unknown and so Jinx fought. She fought with every terrified bone in her body, even as a weight pressed down against her, pinning her in place and stretching her hands to either side.

"Jinx."

The hexcaster stopped squirming and opened her eyes only to sigh in a catharsial relief.

"Which one might you be Greeny?"

"Your rescuer. Now get up and get moving, we don't have a lot of time."

Jinx groaned and stood, her spine making a few popping sounds as it slid back into place; "I met the Grey one of you earlier. A scared little thing… she disappeared pretty quick though."

"Timid. Or rather, what's left of her. I bet'cha the Little Miss Know-it-all knows more," the green clad Raven replied. Unlike her Grey counterpart, this Raven was wearing street clothes, and her hair looked more spikey than usual. It looked rather good on the girl, in the hex caster's opinion.

"So, this Miss Know-it-all, she gonna be able to get us out of here?"

"Be damned if I know. I was just told to get you. Now come on," she ordered, pulling Jinx behind her.

The two walked for a little while along the cobblestone path in the middle of the misty nowhere. Once again, it seemed to be swirling into shapes and structures. The hex caster watched in idle fascination and enjoyed pausing, causing the green Raven to snarl and huff before dragging her along again which would only cause the hex caster to smirk.

"You know Ravie I missed that about you, the fight I mean."

"Yes. I know. I do as well. I keep myself shackled now, though I have a bit more leeway then the others," she replied as the pair made their way closer to their goal.

"You remember that fight down in that alley?"

"With the tour bus?"

"Good times."

"Definitely."

"Promise me that if we make it out of here we'll have one for ol'times sake."

"Just don't cry when I clean the floor with your ass."

"Deal."

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><p><strong>So what the fuck just happened, you ask?<br>**

**Fear not, all shall be explained (hopefully) in the next chapter!**

**Also, hopefully, the in next chapter, the pair will make it out of their own brains without becoming insane! Then a plot twist! Or like four. I don't know yet. I'm running blind at the moment. With scissors. Yeah. **

**So I'd like to take the time right now to say, holy shit, I never though this thing would make it this far. It's still got a long way to go though, so don't get your knickers in a twist quite just yet. **

**I hope to have the next chapter up soon or at least a drabble of sort to add to my arsenal if I can't. Your patience is much appreciated. **

**Once again, thank you for reading, reviewing, and fav'ing. It means a lot. Truly Scrumptious it does. **

**Happy Reading. **


	12. HeadSpace Part 2

**Hello once again dear readers. Are you excited? **

**Well you probably shouldn't be... or maybe you should? I just don't know anymore.**

**In anycase, I don't own anything so please don't sue me.**

**This chapter picks up right where we left off and thankfully informs us about what's going on. It's shorter than I'd like but hopefully the next chapter will make up for it. **

**Read and review if you want to. **

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><p>The two wandered on, tossing well mannered insults and taunting jaunts as they went and eventually, the pair stopped before a large and rather formidable looking forest which in the hex caster's opinion, appeared reminiscent of a Grimm Fairytale or two.<p>

"So Miss Know-it-all lives in here?"

"Guess so. Come on, let's check it out."

They pushed their way through the undergrowth and dodged trees that looked like they had been growing for centuries and Jinx found herself idly wondering if there were three of her, if she would be able to wrap her arms around any of them. She giggled at the thought and her green clad companion shot her a cocky scowl in reply. As they continued pressing their way through the forest the air became thicker, the grey faded away and spurts of color creeper into the area; by the time they reached the altar-like building in the center of the forest the world was in full color rather than the grayscale it was before because of the dense forest however, there wasn't much light filtering though the leaves, leaving little of world illuminated. With a quick glance at each other the two grinned and raced each other up the steps, when the green clad Raven won the pink haired hex caster grumbled and muttered something about cheaters and headtrips before pushing open the heavy ornately carved stone doors.

The inside of the temple like building was just as intricately carved and detailed as the doors and was lit with low burning torches and strategically placed yellow wax candles. Jinx paused for a minute and spun around, drinking in the sight. _This place would make Indie Anna Joans weep with excitement, _she thought to herself, _the Indian influence is slightly calming_. _I wonder if she planned it that way? _

"Come on Pinky, don't tell me you're quitting already?"

Jinx shook herself from her thoughts and trudged onwards; "You know where we're going?"

"Not really. But all roads lead to Rome so…"

Jinx nodded in understanding; they would no doubt run into her sooner or later. To her surprise it turned out to be much sooner than expected, for as the oddly colored pair walked into the next room they found themselves in what appeared to be an enormous library where books, scrolls, texts and other various notes and works were scattered and stacked everywhere in an unidentifiable type of organization that was most likely based as much on controlled chaos as it was in logical placement. Out of curiosity the cat eyed girl leaned over the nearest stack and tried to see what all of the things were.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Startled Jinx pulled away and shot a glance at the green clad Raven who only shrugged. Confused the hex caster looked around to catch the owner of the voice but came up empty handed anyway.

"Over here, but please, mind your heads."

The green clad Raven shrugged at the pink haired witch and mumbled, "Let's get to it then."

Nodding Jinx followed close behind and did her best not to trip over or collide into any of the stacks or bookshelves. After making a few dangerous twists and turns they rounded a corner and found a yellow robed Raven sitting behind a desk that was piled with various papers, scrolls, books and quills, and a mountain of similar things behind her. She looked up at them from behind brass rimmed spectacles and sighed before removing them, placing them down precisely before standing up. She looked the pair over and nodded, regarding them with an almost idle apprehension before beckoning them closer.

"So I hear you had quite the time on the Hell Tower earlier," she began with a smirk.

Jinx blushed and rubbed the back of her neck; "Yeah… Come to think of it, what was that thing? And where exactly am I? And who are you? And who's she?" she asked, jerking a thumb at the Green clad Raven.

"That," the yellow robbed Raven nodded, "is Bravery. Although lately she has been little more than Brash. As to myself, I am Raven's embodiment of Knowledge."

"How can Knowledge be an emotion? Isn't that like…a thing?"

Knowledge sighed and crossed her arms; "Imagine the sky. You think to yourself, skies consist of colors and clouds, sometimes stars and weather patterns. You don't know _how_ you know these things, but you _know_ that you _do_. I am that knowing. The feeling that knows how much tea the cup will fit, the being that knows which name to call which person, the thing that thinks etcetera."

"Alright I get it jeeze. Well, not really, but I'll roll with it anyway. What about the other stuff? And those shadow things?"

"Those were… inner daemons I guess you can say. When you opened the emotional baggage they flocked to you."

"You mean, that suitcase was legit emo-baggage?" the hexcaster managed to reply between giggles.

"The mind presents things in ways that are easy to comprehend," Knowledge replied dryly, her eyebrow twitching; "You were able to comprehend a Pandora's Box suitcase, and as such, that is how you perceived it. To myself it would have looked vastly different."

Jinx sobered up again and tilted her head before asking, "And the ride?"

"That," she began before leaning on the desk, "was a symbol. A juxtaposition of how both you and I perceive the real world Tower that we live in. It is large, terrifying, exciting and at the moment, full of structured chaos and memories. The mirrors themselves relate to how we perceive ourselves, we often keep our most treasured and hated memories in our reflections."

"So…you weren't trying to kill me?"

"...Why should I want to kill you?"

"I don't know. Seemed pretty convincing to me though. You know, while I was clinging to the thing like my life depended -oh wait, that's because it _did_," Jinx retorted, waving her injured hand in the yellow robbed Raven's face.

"That's because I've always kept my mind on the defensive. With a good offense too," Bravery interjected, "That damn Trigon won't ever get in here again, that's for sure."

"I wouldn't be so hasty, with my powers and Jinx's colliding with the mirror…things may not be as simple as they were. It's far too soon to tell what damage has been done."

"Whoa, wait, wait, what'da'ya mean damage? Like, _brain_ damage?" the hex caster cried in horror.

"Well I wouldn't go so far as to call it brain damage… per say… However, from what I have gathered in the two days we've been unconscious-"

"Holy shit! _Two days_? We've been out of it for two days?"

"Time runs differently in the mind. But yes, and from what your Knowledge has gathered the others are beginning to worry themselves. They might attempt to wake us if we don't act quickly."

"Whoa. Wait. Like I have my own emoticons too?"

"I… would not refer to them as such, but yes. Your Knowledge for example is right over there," she said, nodding her head to another book stack, "Knowing, come over here."

A small pink haired girl in a yellow dress slowly appeared from behind the book stack and quietly walked over to the yellow Raven and grabbed her robes in her tiny fist as Jinx stared in shock.

"She can't talk yet but given enough time she'll be fully functional. Until then I'm managing for both of us."

"Do… Do I have like a... Timid and a Brave too?"

"Yes, you have a full range of emotions, you might even posses more than Raven. In any case, you should now understand the gravity of the situation."

"This is all getting boring. Don't I have somewhere to go where I can just punch something or something?" said bravery, annoyed at both listening to everything and at feeling rather left out.

"Yes as a matter of fact, why don't you go take care of those inner daemons? I'm sure you can manage most of them if you hurry."

Nodding the green clad Raven turned and flashed the pink haired hex caster a grin before racing off, leaving the two yellow themed emotions with the cat eyed mage.

"I think I see where Raven gets it," Jinx chided absently, causing her small yellow counterpart to giggle.

"Raven is composed of many things, all of which you can find here, if you know how to look."

"Speaking of looking, why do you all look the way you guys do?"

"As I said before, the mind creates as you perceive. You see raven as she was, therefore none of her emotional representations look as she currently does. Similarly, Raven's conclusions form how we see your emotional markers."

"So… I'm a kid because Raven thinks I'm childish?"

"No, you're a child because this is the first time you are inside your own mind and it's currently trying to grow to suit you. In another day or two all shall be as it should; no, I was referring to her state of being and her dress. You appear in a yellow sundress, which I assume is significant in some manner, just as you see Raven in yellow robes, which is also most likely significant in some manner."

Jinx sighed and resisted the urge to groan. _All of this head examination stuff was giving her the worst headache ever. _"I don't suppose we can just skip to the point of everything now?"

"As you wish," Knowledge replied with a nod. She plucked her glasses from the table as nibbled the end as various books and papers flew through the air, jinx ducking every now and then to keep from getting hit. After a few minutes a chalk board was revealed, and the two yellow dressed figures wandered over to it, leaving jinx to follow suit.

"This," she began, pointing to a diagram of a pair of brains, "Is your mind and this one," she illustrated, pointing to the other, "is Raven's. As you see the longer you watch them the closer they seem to get. Eventually they shall overlap, and as a result, your mind and Raven's will be connected permanently. They might become one mind entirely or else work like a hive. In any case, because of the mirror they are now bonded."

"So…this is like… that empathy stuff to the ninth power?"

"No. This is magic stuff to the dangerous power," she replied, hitting the mage with her pointer before pointing back to the chalkboard; "Now pay attention. In a few minutes I suspect you and Raven shall be woken up. You must remember all that you've seen and learned. It is of _vital_ importance, as what Raven sees in here is completely different then what you do. She isn't able to access the parts of the shared brainspace that you and the mirror have created, meaning at best, she can come here and speak to _your_ Knowledge but she shall be unable to speak with me. Had she met me first things might have been different but as it is…" she shook her head and sighed before the pointer disappeared; she spun around and took Jinx by the shoulders, "You _must_ remember what you've learned. You _must_."

"And what is it that I've learned that's so important?"

"The memory you saw in the mirror Jinx. The one bravery pulled you out of. I know that even now that it's slipping father and father into the back of your mind but you must remember it. Millions and thousands of lives are _depending_ on it. _You. Must. Remember_."

As her words raised in volume the world started to fade away, darkening, even as Knowledge continued to shake and scream at her, even after the world went completely black.

Someone was shaking her. Groggily, she managed to open a pink catslitted eye as she stuffed the nausea the movement caused aside for the moment and looked at the person touching her only to catch sight of violet eyes.

"Which one are you?" she managed to groan, her voice raspy and low.

"Jinx? Trigon damn me," she sighed in relief as she clutched the hexcaster tighter, causing the mage to become rather well introduced to the psion's chest; "I was...worried...that you hadn't woken up. You've been lying here for a few days now. I woke up yesterday but I think that's only because I have more experience with this sort of thing," she said, then pausing as if taking the hexcaster into consideration, "Are you alright? Are you yourself?"

Jinx sighed and relaxed against the empath, tilting her head to better rest against her before replying, "Yeah, I'm alright. Fitter than a fiddle. Kinda tired though. Like I had the flu or something. What happened anyway? I remember the mirror falling and a flash or something."

Raven nodded to herself and relaxed; "We passed out as the mirror did whatever it was that it did. Starfire found us later that night when we didn't answer Nightwing's call and we got moved into the medbay when we didn't respond. When I woke up the others looked pretty concerned. It took a lot to convince them not to mess with the mirror…"

"There's something else isn't there?"

"Yes. It… It appears my mentor went missing that night. And my brother's have started to gain power. Already their crimes are numerable and... _vicious_, to say the least..."

At the mention of Azar, Jinx felt something nagging in the back of her brain. Unable to pick it out though, she dismissed it and continued hiding from the harsh glare of the medbay's lights by curling closer to the empath like a sleepy kitten.

"Don't worry Dollface, we'll stop 'em. You'll see. And we'll find your makeshift momma too."

Raven huffed and then seemed to realize the hex caster was practically draped on herself. She pouted and gently pushed the girl off and slid off of the cot, ignoring the mage's cry of dismay.

"And one other thing, a certain someone is here to see you," Raven tossed over her shoulder before disappearing into the hall, her expression carefully guarded.

Jinx sighed to herself at the cryptic message while rolling over onto her back. She flopped onto the floor and stretched, flexing her back almost inhumanly, and yawned. She shook her head and ran her fingers along her hair, making sure it looked right as she skipped out of the medbay, pausing long enough only to turn off the lights behind her.

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><p><strong>Well there we go, the end of that story arc. Which means it's time for all the good stuff! And some not so good stuff. As a matter of fact, I'm sure some of you will want to kill me for the next chapter but alas, it is for the best. <strong>

Spoiler alert!

The next chapter might contain: the Kid Flash, research, Raven breaking down with Cyborg, character abuse, Nightwing leaving, a new Robin, bad jokes from Beast Boy...

**_***AND***_**

**__**A new character to this chess game of good and evil. One that is still a cannon character but probably not well known at all. But nothing is set in stone as of yet.

**Also, as a final note, I'm sorry if I missed replying to anyone's review or comment. As I've said before however, they all mean a lot and I appreciate every single one of them. :) **

**Happy Reading. **


	13. Wally's Girl

**Do you guys know how weird writing the beginning of this chapter was when my iPod decided to repeat _Jessie's Girl _every other song_?_ Seriously, I_ still_ don't know how I managed to write this all without laughing. **

_**-You'll see why. **_

_**Sidenote: This takes place a day or two after the mirror incident. I don't know if any of you are paying attention to the timeline or not, but I thought it worth mentioning. **_

**Also, I know I promised a longer chapter this time, but I'm trying to keep the flow of the story going without losing interest in writing it. I'm a terrible person, I know this dear readers; I apologize.**

**Oh god. I think I got EVERYONE out of character here. Somebody shoot me.**

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><p>"But I still don't see how this… <em>thing<em> is going to help our cause. I mean, won't the brat despise it? I mean, look at it, it's uglier then Gluttony. And _that's_ saying something Jacob."

"Shut it _Jesse,_" Lust snarled, "This thing is the very key to our success. As a female our dearest sister will be emotionally obligated to it one way or another, of _that_ I can assure you."

Envy grimaced at the mention of his older halfsister; it would be lying to say that he didn't hate her with every fiber of his being, she was their father's favorite after all, _Daddy's little girl... _It just wasn't fair. He was every bit as good as his failure of a sister –better even. Still, despite his jealousy he knew they needed her for his brother's plans to succeed, so when the time came he would play his part well... He just didn't have to be happy about it.

"So what exactly is this thing anyway?" asked their darkskinned brother Wrath while he prodded the creature inside the cage, his voice low and deep. Although he was technically the oldest sibling of the seven after his sister, his short temper left him better suited for following orders rather than giving them and as such, thoroughly enjoyed when his favorite hobby mixed with the mission. Traces of his conquests were still scattered over his clothes and there were a few rather sticky looking bits dried to his dreads. His four red eyes watched the deformed beast pacing back and forth with a sickly fascination.

"That dear Jared, is Wyld. Born from Raven's flight to Earth. He's been living in his own dimensional rift, connected to Raven's soul energy. When she overthrew Father I was able to track him down."

"So… whatsit do?" wrath asked pointedly, his ears twitching occasionally as he pictured tearing open the creature's flesh and squishing the abnormal beast's heart with his bare hands.

"_He_, dear brother, is going to kill Raven."

"But I thought we need her alive?" asked Envy, confused.

"You misunderstand. I said he was to kill _Raven_, I never said anything about killing _Pride…_"

At their visible loss he sighed and rubbed his brow. He loved his brothers, truly he did, but there were times when he wanted nothing more than to throw them into the gates of Heaven to watch them burn in everturnal agony. Of course, as that wasn't an option, he smiled and clapped his hands together, forming a classic villainous triangle before replying, "This beast, born from our sister, will slowly kill whatever humanity she has left. Then she will be ours for the taking, as her idiotic Earthly playthings will abandon her, and then she shall lead us to the power and glory that we rightfully deserve," he explained, smiling as his two brothers began to nod in understanding; "Now, has anyone seen Jud?"

"Gluttony's in Gotham City. Said something about it being time for a fancy dinner or something," Wrath replied.

"Oh very well, let him have his fun. What Jack and James?"

Happily Envy cut in, eager to steal Lust's attention back from his other brother; "They're at the border, just as you ordered, but I'm pretty sure they got a bit… _sidetracked_ in Vegas…"

Lust nodded, "Good. Good, all is going well then. Jared, why don't you take the night off and have a swing around the slums? I'm sure you'll find plenty of things to keep you entertained for the evening."

Wrath nodded to his brother; he would have the streets bathed in blood by the morning and he smiled cruelly at the thought.

"And me dear brother?"

"You Envy, I have a special job for. It has been brought to my attention that a certain poorly dressed bozo has invaded our dear sister's home and is making moves once more on the witchling and _we _are going to make sure our dearest sister acts…_accordingly_…"

Envy grinned sickly from ear to ear, his jaw looking almost unhinged, showing off a mouthful of horrid pointy yellow fangs.

It was odd, the empath mused, as she watched the budding supers flitter about, mingling and interacting with gusto. Raven watched them from her seat on the barstool, observing them as an entomologist would study insects in their natural habitat. That in and of itself was not particular different than what she usually did, she had always preferred observing over participating, but she found herself watching a few certain individuals with more intent focus as opposed to her usual idle careless pastime.

Dick, she found, was far more unreachable than usual. He had talked with her briefly after she had recovered from the incident with her magic mirror a few days prior, but afterwards, he was once again distant and cold. Not unfriendly per say, for deep down he was still the same person that she had always known, but he was Nightwing, and as such he was determined to act like it to the best of his capabilities. As she watched him from behind her steaming glass of caffeinated herbal tea, she found herself almost mentally counting down the probable days to his departure. As she ripped her gaze from him she felt deep in her gut that he wouldn't be staying much longer.

She eyed the other occupants in the Common room and eventually focused on her partner against her will. She was sitting on the couch's armrest with her feet in Wally's lap, a small smile across her face and shit eating grin across her boyfriend's. It was sickening. Jinx must have felt her discomfort for the hex caster quickly looked up at her, and the empath quickly turned away and cut off her emotions, effectively keeping the connection between them empty of interference. Mentally, she scowled. Outwardly, she was the perfect picture of devoid indifference; nothing could touch her, nothing could sway her. After a few seconds Raven turned back to look at the couple once more. Their heads were lowered, and the speedster seemed to be whispering something into the cat eyed girl's ear that caused her emotional embarrassment to spike briefly before returning to a stationary level once more.

Swallowing down something that might have possibly been her lunch returning for an impromptu visit, Raven shook her head and quickly focused her attention elsewhere. To alleviate herself, the demoness opened up her awareness of the other Titans in the room to a higher level of reception in attempt to drown out her connection with Jinx. It was, in effect, similar to turning on all the stations on the radio to block out an individual song with white noise. The brain splitting headache she received shortly after was worth it in her humble opinion.

With the problem of her mental connection temporarily solved, Raven allowed herself a small smirk of triumph which was not unnoticed by the white haired teenager sitting next to her. When the empath offered nothing in way of explanation Ravager simply shrugged and returned to her sandwhich without any further probing, for which the psion was grateful. The dark titan's smile was soon wiped clear as her face drained itself of any emotion all together as she caught sight of Jinx and the Flash sharing a rather affectionate display on the couch in front of her and as the hexcasters emotions rolled into Raven's net of empathic awareness she found herself contemplating different tortures she wished to afflict on the boy until a sharp pain on her thigh caused her to snap her concentration on them.

She pried her nails from her flesh without so much as a word and Rose warily raised an eyebrow in her direction. The empath dissipated without any explanation and the one eyed teenager only shrugged once more, deciding to leave the empath to her own devices.

Cyborg yawned, slapping a metallic hand over his mouth while his mechanical optic adjusted to the darkness in the garage; it was getting late and the underground room only seemed to get darker as the hours crept by. Shaking his head to ward off the small spell of grogginess in his joints, he flipped on the lights and was about to head over to his beloved T-Car when a noise stopped him dead in his tracks. _Sounds like sniffling_. Curious, he wandered to the back of the garage near where the tablesaw and the boxes of spare electrical parts were kept and found to his surprise, a teammate huddled on the workbench with tearstained cheeks. He paled slightly at the sight of the empath in such low spirits and found himself sitting beside the girl almost instantly.

"What's wrong Lil' lady?" he asked quietly, placing an arm around the girl's shoulders.

Her wings sagged and a soft raggled gasp escaped the girl's throat and she took a few deep breaths before she was able to answer; "_Nothing._"

"Come on now Rae," he prodded, pulling the girl closer to him, "Tell ol' Cy _all_ about it…"

Raven sniffed and looked up at him with wide watery eyes, their color faded and grayed out. Her feathers appeared unkept and looked far too ruffled for the girl who wore her dignity like a shroud, and he was fairly certain the empath was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the day before which the violet haired Titan certainly never did.

"…I hate him…"

Mentally steeling himself up for the long conversation ahead, Cyborg offered his friend a smile and gently said, "go on."

"…I can feel it you know. Them. I'm an empath," she continued, tapping her head while looking back down in her lap, "I can feel everything she's feeling. …Stupid mirror... -I hate it. Him. -Her. …He's up there now, in her _room_. Even down here I can't get away from them…"

It was a good thing he had excellent hearing, he thought to himself as he gently rubbed the space between the psion's wings, otherwise the girl's words wouldn't have been audible. As it was he was able to detect all of the empath's subtle inflections and twists of tone. Rather than attack the problem head on, he thought it best to ease into it, for both their sakes.

"What's this 'bout a mirror Rae?"

Raven folded in on herself, making herself even smaller then before and she started shaking.

"Come on now, I can't fix it if I don't know what it is… you can tell me babygirl," he urged, hoping to draw her out again. He suppressed a sigh of relief when the dark Titan trembled before relaxing slightly.

"The mirror into my mind… Jinx and I touched it… our powers… I…" she shook her head, long violet locks swishing through the air; "Something happened Cyborg, something I don't think I can fix. I can _feel_ her. Always. It's worse when we're in the same room. I can taste what she's thinking… It's maddening… Frightening… Horrible…"

"The mirror connected her to you?" he remembered the silver handmirror, himself and the changeling having literally stumbled into it; his grin faltered a bit as he thought of Starfire finding Raven and the hexcaster unconscious beside the thing, he had assumed they were in Raven's head but he had also assumed that everything had been okay, as both magic users denied anything being wrong after waking up. And now it appeared something _had_ happened, and it appeared that a certain hexcaster and her boyfriend were factors in the problem.

The empath nodded, taking a moment to regain what little composure she had left. She straightened herself up and Cyborg kept his hand on her back, silently urging her to continue with her confessions without actually pressuring her to do so.

"At first it was fun. We'd be standing in the same room and we'd know what each other would be thinking;" her face paled and she grimaced, "we cheated during the poker game. I'm sorry," she tossed quietly over her shoulder, Cyborg found himself chuckling; "It's alright Rae. It was worth every penny to watch the look of horror on BB's face."

Raven smiled sadly and nodded before frowning; "But it's almost unbearable now. Knowing that she's… up there… with him… he's been here for days already…"

He sighed, realizing the multiple implications behind the empath's words; "Wally."

"Yes," she spat venomously, "he's up there, chatting her up out of the blue and paving the way into her pants… and I hate it. Him. Oh Trigon damn me, I hate him," she moaned furiously into her hands.

"Do you hate him cause of Jinxycat's emotions? Or do you hate him because of your own?"

Raven snarled and stood up, almost casing the metallic Titan to fall over in surprise before beginning to pace around the immediate area. Cyborg rubbed the plating over his core processor and watched the girl for a few minutes, warily eyeing the surrounding objects in the room and mentally calculating how much it would cast to replace them should his little sister decide to blow off inevitable steam.

"It's not fair. I know that. He was there first. But I don't care, I was here now and he wasn't. _It's._ _Not. Fair_," she roared, causing a few of the light bulbs to overheat. She growled and turned around, slowing her gait as she did so; "…I know it's… _wrong_. Selfish. But I can't help it Cy… I don't know why… I just… I j-just…" she sighed in defeat and sat down again.  
>"You like her," he replied, wrapping his arm around the smaller girl once more, "ain't nobody can fault you for that Rae… Now then, the only thing left to decide is what you want to do about it," her replied matter of factly.<p>

Raven sighed and buried her face into his metal chest, her wings folding shut against her back, creating a small cocoon of comfort for the empath. She cried quietly for a few minutes, the older mechanical Titan whispering encouragement every now and then before the demonling replied quietly, "I just want her to be happy… I'd rather her have a thousand men and suffer through them all then force her to choose a half demon who would only end up killing her anyway…"

"Raven," Cyborg replied sternly, causing the girl to look up at him, "You and I both know that that would never happen, even in your darkest moment you have never really injured any of us. And I know for a fact you'd never hurt that girl no matter _how_ far you were gone."

"But my powers! My…emotions… I-I could never give her what anyone else could. I have to control myself completely… especially now… I…" she sighed and held her arms around her middle, "I kissed Logan and he turned into a beast, what do you think would happen if I did anything with Jinx? Trigon's _bane_… I.. I-"

"-Are very good at coming up with reason _not _to do things. Now, that mess with BB has long since been sorted out and I've known Jinx a long time, even had a bit of a thing for her awhile back and I've known you nearly twice as long as that;" he lowered his voice and softened his tone, "and I know what it's like to watch someone from afar and think that nothing will ever happen. To think that you're a monster and that nobody will ever like you 'cause of it. And it ain't true Rae, no matter what anybody ever tells you, it ain't true. Sarah may have pounded that into me, but the first person to convince me of it was you Rae. I won't let you forget that."

"Just because I didn't scream at the sight of you…" she replied weakly, unable to fill her words with her intended sarcasm.

"Rae," the mechanical Titan replied quietly, "You didn't even _notice_ I was half machine. You just saw me as part of the team."

"I've seen stranger things," the empath replied meekly.

"And my point is, so has Jinx. She cares a lot about you Rae. Enough to where it would hurt her if you didn't tell her what you really feel. I'm not sayin' she'll dump Wallace for you two seconds flat, but if you don't give her a chance it'll eat you up inside until you can't breathe anymore and Jinx will be upset that you didn't trust her enough to say anything."

The psion sighed and pushed herself away from him, causing the tinman to reconsider his words, he was about to comment further but Raven beat him to the draw, saying, "I don't even know if what I'm feeling is anything other than a horrible mix of jealousy, lust, and whatever the mirror did. I don't even know if I know _how_ to love someone Cy. How can I even dare to compete with someone like Flash?"

"Easy girl. The guy's a sleaze. You've seen him flirting his way around the globe. Tried it on you too if I remember right and J was mighty pissed about it too. It wouldn't surprise me if Jinx was only still with him to keep her place on the Team assured."

"That's horrible."

"That's reality Rae."

"No, she… she isn't the kind of person to string someone along for personal gain. If she's with him, then she likes him. He must make her happy. I don't want to get in the way of that."

"Raven, you aren't the type to make decisions without knowin all the facts, and it sounds to me like you really just don't want to take a chance, not that I don't blame ya," he added at Raven's dirty glare, "but I really think you should talk to her, if nothing else then to find a way to tune down your empathy towards her. It ain't right… knowin everything… like that."

"Maybe…maybe you're right…"

"I am right Raven, and I seriously think you have a good shot with her. Jinx is probably open for something stable, and if you don't mind me sayin' Rae, the one thing you need more than anything right now is stability."

Raven nodded, knowing he was talking about more than just her love life. She sighed and let silence hang in the air for a few minutes before asking, "He's leaving soon… isn't he?"

Cyborg nodded, his expression darkening, "Star's taking it better than I thought but Beast Boy doesn't seem to be doing well with it."

"Gar will get used to it. He's stronger then Dick gave him credit for."

"And you?"

Raven paused, thinking it over before looking back up at him and replying, "I still have you… right?"

The mechanical Titan smiled and nodded, "Right."

"I'll miss him though Vic."

"I know Rae," he said, wrapping his arm around her again, "I know. We all will."

Raven was about to retort with something witty when the garage's doors slid open once more. The pair looked at each other before separating, Cyborg removing his arm before standing up and the violet haired psion straitening her posture and placing her favored unreadable expression on her pallid face.

"Hey Rosey."

She nodded somberly at the metallic Titan before looking at the empath; "You're need in the main room."

"Did something happen?" she asked emotionlessly; if Cyborg hadn't have watched her for the past few minutes he'd never have guessed her to be crying only moments ago.

"Your brothers happened."

Wordlessly, the empath and the one-eyed Titan disappeared in the shadowy blackness of Raven's powers, leaving the metal made man to wonder just what kind of Hell the future had in store for them all. Sighing, he sat back down on the bench and decided that his car could do with another coat of wax.

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><p><strong>First of all, I'd like to say that Raven's brothers and Wyld are all cannon characters in the comics, and I've tried to keep them all as cannon as possible. Wlyd was technically created by Raven teleporting around as she searched for her father and all of her brother's I'm pretty much flying blind with as there was precious little about them available. And like I said, I gave the trailer-trashy brother the name "Jud" to keep with the family tradition of "J" names. I don't know why the writers made that, or if it was intentional, but i'm going to use that to my own advantages. <strong>

**Also, yes, I know that in the show Beast Boy's primal form was brought out by a vat of toxic sludge being dumped on him, but in the comics it happened because Raven kissed him and her demonic powers messed with his animalistic...ness... and he turned primal and to keep things short and simple, I wanted the comic version for the story. **

**So I guess you can say he and Raven must have had some sort of history to some degree in this story but Logan's quite happy with Terra so you don't have to worry about that. **

**Also, the relationship between Raven & Cyborg has been and will always will be strictly platonic and I never meant to imply otherwise in case any of you were beginning to wonder. It's simply that Cyborg is the "family man," and with Raven's "twin" becoming distant and stand-offish, her best friend becoming the source of her problems, and her mentor MIA, she's left with her "big brother" as her only source of comfort. **

**Now Jinx and Flash on the other hand, is obviously very in this story, and I'm sure most of you are ready to shoot me now. **

**BEFORE YOU END MY HUMBLE EXCUSE OF EXISTENCE**

**Let me remind you that this _IS_ a Rae/Jinx story, and Rae/Jinx _W__ILL_ happen. ****Eventually. But things must happen in order, I can't make them fall in love right off the bat cause it wouldn't work with the way that the story is set up. So please be patient. I know you're all tired and frustrated but feel free to express your displeasure and or dislike of Jinx/Flash. It'll make me giggle. **

**Also, tell me dear readers, I know some of you wished to see more interaction with other characters, but would any of you be interested in seeing some of the story from their POV? ****For example Donna watching how Starfire is coping with Nightwing or Ravager's thoughts about being in the tower? **

**Feel free to drop a few things that you wouldn't mind seeing or a few things you would like to see me do or change. I might not be able to add it to the story depending on what exactly the idea is, as I already have most of the what I plan to do with this story planned out, but I would love to see what you guys would be interested in and I would love chatting it over with you. **

**Also, as the story currently stands, there are two directions that this story can go. Personally, I'd prefer the darker version, but I wouldn't be opposed to keeping it in it's current mellowly state. Feel free to voice your opinion on the matter, as it will help me better decide as to how this story will go. **

**Lastly, review if you want to and happy reading. **


	14. Titan's Chess

**Hello once again readers, sorry for taking so long, Bioware shot a knife through my chest and it took awhile to twist it out again.**

**So, picking up right from where we left off, and this time we see a tad of what goes on in Rose's mind as Raven and Nightwing discuss things. I didn't go into gory details but rest assured that'll happen a bit later anyway. **

**Please don't sue but you can read & review. **

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><p>The images of mutilated men women and children didn't affect the violet haired empath in the slightest, other than to cause the smallest ghost of a frown across her pursed lips Ravager noted with silent observation. She watched the psion click through the pictures slowly, lingering on each as she apparently considered the meanings of each with the same analytical attachment that she herself often gave to her knives when sharpening their deadly edges. With a flick of her head that caused white hair to whip softly across her good eye, she regarded their leader with the same intensity. He stood solemn, and Rose could easily picture his silhouette in the dark rainy nights on some rooftop somewhere in the grim ridden city of Gotham. He waited patiently for Raven to draw her conclusions rather than informing her of his own, and Rose assumed he had drawn his own, and the one eyed Titan got the impression that this was some sort of test.<p>

She found herself hoping for the winged girl to succeed at it, to her own surprise. The empath was the only Titan who had never asked about her eye nor treated her as an extension of her father, even when the dark Titan had had more cause than most to treat her as such. As Raven leaned a fraction lower to type her commands, rose found herself nearly smiling with amusement as the psion's tail twitched back and forth like a cat's. A few of the empath's feathers twitched and Ravager turned her focus back to the screen which was now displaying raw footage. An uneasy feeling settled into her stomach, it was easy looking at pictures. At dead bodies. It was all aftermath, and there wasn't anything that could be done about it. Watching it happen, even in past tense however, always tricked the mind into losing its hard steel edge and left room for worming unease. Glancing at the psion, Rose realized that her comrade was fairing little better albeit for slightly different reasons.

"Freeze at twenty seconds," commanded the empath, "enlarge grid section twenty four and three-fifths… flip image and clarify please."

The computer complied almost instantly and the blurry pixal image revealed two figures, each sporting a pair of glowing red eyes.

"This was taken a night ago, the most recent footage we have is from this morning, over deep in Bludhaven, though the crimes were different they all had the same sort of feel to it."

"Your gut told you they were linked?" she asked him quietly, causing the one eyed Titan to wonder if the girl ever held a conversation with voice inflections.

"Doesn't yours?" he responded, answering her rise with one of his own. Rose idly wondered how the pair kept score.

The empath blinked, long dark violet lashes lapping over her red plagued eyes. Doll eyes, thought the white haired teen, as just as creepy come to think of it. She half expected the demon to hear her thoughts and grin evilly.

Raven however wasn't in such an obliging mood; she had forgotten her objective in the blur of her emotions, and it was unacceptable. She half expected that this why the very reason Nightwing had brought the information to her attention in the first place. Or perhaps, she thought to herself with grim mirth, he had grown wary of the looks she had been casting the speedster's way. Immediately she pushed the emotion laden thoughts from her mind and focused on the clues before her.

She knew both who the culprits were and what their crimes currently consisted of. She could only guess at their motives and where any of them would plan to strike next. Knowing these factors, she concluded quickly, that the best way to stop them would be to have them come to her and confront them then. If she tried to follow any one to get to the all she could end up in a wild goose chase that would last for _who only knew_ how long. That left only one thing left to consider… where to draw them too? She ran a list of locations in her mind; weighing costs such as probably civilian interferement and property damage versus time taken for probable backup to be available should it be needed.

She kept her gaze focused on the red eyes as she thought, and then closed her own and blocked out all outside stimuli momentarily while she became in tune with her base nature. Her brothers were demonic. She was demonic. Where would they be likeliest to come?

The church of Blood was always an option. While the original still barley stood in the condemned area, there was another located not too far from Middleton and if the Bat hadn't interfered, one in central Gotham. Unfortunately the latter two were quite populated with civilians and men of the clergy, and in her current state she felt herself opposed to that statistic. Of course, she didn't want the old library crashing over her head either.

Her grandparent's cemetery.

It was secluded from both civilians and rather out of the way from most other graves… it was located in Gotham thus right in the territory of many who would offer their aid if necessary… and close to many of her brother's areas of activity. They would notice her and investigate the threat to their territory. They would have no other choice but to do so.

"Dick, I'm going to stop them. I'll be leaving in the morning to do so."

Nightwing nodded grimly in affirmation but his moth was tightly frowning before he replied, "I don't want you to go alone. And I don't want you to leave without you telling me where you're planning to go and what you intend to do."

"I'll go with her," Rose answered without hesitation, "I kinda owe her one," she continued, referring to her involvement with Slade's plan to kill the dark Titan, though she had no need to illustrate the fact further.

Raven nodded, her hair flickering over her horns before replying, "I also want Logan. His instincts could come in handy and his nose is almost as good as mine, I promise not to kill him unless he starts telling jokes."

"Raven," he replied with amusement, "he's always telling jokes."

"Shame for him then," the empath replied with equal amusement.

"Are you taking Jinx as well?" he asked innocently, only to raise his brow when Raven froze.

Ravager thought back to what she had walked in on at the garage and how the empath had been acting the past couple days. It didn't line up with how the psion had been acting in the long run and it triggered her curiosity. _There was a story brewing there_, she mentally grinned, and she would ferret it out in due course.

"…I'll ask her, but with Wally here…"

"You don't want to interrupt anything, I got it," Nightwing nodded understandingly, misinterpreting the empath's reactions, "her luck might have come in handy though. Maybe you should take Donna or Kon-El with you too, just to be safe. We don't really know what these guys are truly capable of."

"I know fully well what they can do Dick, and I know full well what I can do too. I'll take Donna and I'll ask Jinx. If she declines I'll ask Kori," the demoness decided, slapping the deal on the table like a hand in Texas Hold'em. Rose wondered how many aces she had up her sleeve.

Their leader nodded; "Now where are you going?"

"Gotham."

"I'll go with you; I've got to check in there before getting to Bludhaven anyway. On your way back to the tower I'd like you to pick up Robin if you wouldn't mind."

"Robin?" Rose asked, needing further clarification.

"My replacement at the Tower and the Bat's next sidekick. He'll be leading the team from now on and I expect everyone to listen to him as you would me."

"He's a child Dick, but as you wish," the empath replied, nodded more to herself and the crime photos then to her leader.

"And your plan?"

"_I'll_ worry about the plan. You should worry about Star's reaction to this. Have you even told her yet? Or were you planning on sneaking off in the night without telling her goodbye?"

Though her voice was even and perfect pleasant, the anger and venom dripping from the words had even the one eyes Titan drowning in guilt.

"I've… I've taken care of that, yes," he replied softly, more to himself then to his teammates.

Without further notice, the empath spun and started up the stairs to the main corridor, leaving a sighing Nightwing and a solemn Ravager in her wake.

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><p><strong>Yes, the story is starting to get interesting now... <strong>

**Let us see how things play out hmm? and for those of you waiting for the other shoe to drop on the Flinx relationship, don't worry, I am too. **

**Now again, for those of you who don't know Raven's comic story, Ravager helped her father Slade in trying to kill Raven to keep the apocalypse from happening. when he doubted her resolve, Rose drove her own blade through her eye to prove herself, rendering her permanently blind in one eye. Just. Like. Him. **

**Raven feels no animosity towards either of them for the act on her life as at the time she was quite out of it, and later, because raven understood their reasoning completely. **

**I must say, part of me actually ships Ravager/Raven to a small extent, but none of you will have to worry about that as none of that will be appearing in this story. Maybe in a different fic perhaps. Some other time. ****Although, if I was ever to write a non Raven/Jinx fic it would probably be a Raven/Lady Death fic. That shit would be insane. Awesome, but insane. **

**Also, at this point the story is indeed to progressively get darker as that is the nature with demons. However, that doesn't mean that their won't be any happy endings, as I _do_ like these characters after all. **

**Happy reading!**


	15. Hidden RevelationsMuted Conversations

**Hello dear readers.**

**I own nothing. Please don't sue.**

**I am making a slight Young Justice reference in this chapter by borrowing on of its characters, Artemis. She is going to be our next lovely plot enabler. And Raven shall learn things. And then talk to Jinx, or attempt to. and then we have a nice little chat with Terra, where more misscommunication abounds. **

**Enjoy. **

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><p>"No Airte, I won't be back for another week…"<p>

"_Her_? Nah, of course not babe. Never. Just chill'n with my boys, you know me…"

"Yeah… What?"

"Aw babe, do I have to? –Fine! Jeeze, I was just kidding…"

"Look babe, _I love you_."

"…Right, same. Look, I'll catch'ya later, k? Flash out."

Raven's fist remained paused, hovering midair just a hairs breadth from tapping the well worn metal door, her eyes large and round with surprise, and her mouth slightly agape. _Had she just heard…_ She turned her head to glance at Rose Wilson, _did you hear that too?_ The one-eyed white haired Titan nodded just once, _Yes, I heard him too_. Their silent conversation brought Raven from her shock. Her first instinct was to disregard the overheard conversation entirely, as it was none of her business and likely not what she and the masked girl behind her were thinking. After all, Flash had a habit of flirting with anything that moved, and attempted to charm anything with a healthy dose of estrogen. That didn't necessarily mean the redheaded boy was seeing someone behind her best friend's back… _right?_ The violet haired Titan turned to her companion for further discussion. Ravager only shrugged, either not wishing to involve herself with teenage romantic drama or else not willing to discuss such things where they could easily be overheard.

As Raven turned her attention back to the door, she once again began the motion of knocking when the door slid open, causing the psion to stumble back before getting run into by the yellow suited speedster.

"Oh hey Raven. Rosie," he said happily, giving a nod to each; Raven's eyes widened once again when the emotions rolling off of the boy hit her like a tidal wave, sending her crashing down into a rocky crag. Kid Flash didn't seem to notice however and asked with a wink, "Something you need? Anything _I _can help two _fine_ young ladies such as yourselves with?"

"Sorry Tiger," Ravager replied, saving Raven the trouble of having to do so, "Got ourselves a mission and we need your girlfriend to tag along if she's up for it;" placing a bit of emphasis on the word girlfriend, which caused the speedster to blush.

"Right," he replied, running a hand through his hair, "Well she's in the shower so if you go in there take please take pictures," he joked, his most charming smile plastered across his face, " Now if you ladies need me, I have a date with the fridge;" he said as he brushed past the two with a friendly wave and another smile.

"Careful Wally," Raven said after him, her quiet whisper reaching him with all the clarity of a shout, "a lot of people like that fridge. Someone could get a bit… _jealous_…"

His gait slowed the tiniest bit before a sheepish chuckle escaped his throat. Raven glared at his retreating figure and closed her eyes as she felt them begin to shift into their more demonic forms. Rose placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and the empath soon nodded in response when she was once again in full control. The white haired girl cocked an eyebrow and raven shrugged before stepping into the hexcaster's room. Confused when the other girl didn't follow her, she flicked her tail in a 'come hither' motion only to be met with Ravager's shaking head.

The look in the girl's eye seemed to say, _this is not my fight, but I wish you luck. _The empath nodded as the door began to slide shut, her eyes soft, _very well… and_ _thank you. _

Finding herself alone the empath snapped her wings tighter to her body and straightened her posture to the best of her abilities as she waited for the cat eyed meta-human to finish her shower. She glanced around the room but resisted the urge to rifle through its contents, for fear of accidently destroying something with her claws or powers. She realized that while this was her second time in the girl's room, it was the first time she had seen it cluttered. The paintings were nice, and after a moment of inspection she realized that they were the creations of the pink haired hex wielder. There were canvases and sketchbooks scattered elsewhere about the room as well, _no doubt filled to their brims with the random inane imaginings of their owner_, Raven mused, her eyes flickering with an almost happy glean. The look faded away when something caught the corner of her eye. Turning, she wandered over to the desk and the open book on top of it.

_Figures, deformed, greytoned and writhing in agony as if they were the very wraiths of Hell._ The next page, _a child. hideous and deformed, tainted by tortures most mortals couldn't dream of in their darkest hours._ Another flip, _four red eyes, spanned across two pages._ Another couple,_ an amusement park ride that sent her chills, a broken doll that bore a remarkable resemblance to Raven's human self without eyes, a mirror that she could practically hear screaming… _Raven felt her partner's emotions flooding through the pictures as strongly as if they were stemming from the girl herself. Clearly, they bothered the girl, or _something_ else did, and that would defiantly have to be added onto her list of things to address the girl about, she quickly decided.

The sound of metal sliding against metal tore her attention from the sketches and the empath settled her attention on the hexcaster that had just entered her bedroom clad in a towel and panda slippers. Unable to stop herself, raven cocked an eyebrow.

"Wally stole my PJ's, that bastard…" she grumbled, making her way over to her dresser.

Raven turned her head away, fighting off a blush as she heard the sound of fabric hitting the floor. The violet hired girl decided to turn away from the girl, to give her friend better privacy, and to hide her flaming cheeks and banish her rampant thoughts.

"So Ravy, long time no see. What's up?" Jinx asked from somewhere behind her.

"A few things actually. None of which are very… _pleasant_ I'm afraid," the psion stated calmly, her voice perfectly even.

The hexcaster chuckled, "With _you_ Dollface? It seldom is… Shoot."

Sighing, the dark Titan took a deep breath and relaxed, her wings settled more comfortable against her back and she clenched her fingers, narrowly avoiding impaling herself. Her eyes closed and her tail rested haphazardly as she debated on where to start and what to bring up and she heard more rustling fabric.

"Your sketches… I can feel your fear radiating from them… Something… troubles you. Will you tell we what's causing it?"

"Can't really," the girl grunted through her t-shirt as she fought with the buttons, "I draw 'em but I don't really remember drawing them or even thinking about them really."

Raven nodded in reply, and stood silent for a few moments longer, contemplating further.

"Uh, you can turn around now Dollface," finding the girl's sudden distance odd.

The empath slowly spun around and Jinx happily patted the space on her bed in front of her; nodding grimly, the empath strode forward but declined sitting, causing the girl to frown.

"There are a few more reasons for my visit."

"…I'm guessing I'm not gonna like where this is going, am I?" Jinx asked with faux cheer.

"No. I don't think you will… But that's all the more reason that I must I'm afraid."

"Go on then," she replied, leaning back on her hands, giving the empath a good view of her unclad legs and toned stomach. Her short shorts were also a nice touch, the empath admitted to herself. _Kid Flash was a lucky devil_, she found herself thinking before the train of thought startled her and she shook her head to clear it away.

"Jinx… I think the most important thing to tell you at the moment is the conversation I overheard a bit earlier…"

"Raven, honey," Jinx groaned before playfully kicking the empath, "all this _teasing_ is going to kill me, hurry up _finish_ before I lose interest..." she grinned innocently, fully aware of her innuendo and the blush coloring the empath's cheeks.

A smile ghosted briefly across the girls face before disappearing just as quickly and the demon bowed her head._ Jinx was happy. What right did she have to ruin that? Did she even _know_ what that conversation was about? Artemis Crock was _not_ the type to play second fiddle after all. This was her _best friend_ she was thinking of hurting... an Azarathian did _not _hurt their friends…_

"Uh, Raven?"

"Robin's leaving. Our Robin I mean. He's leaving with me and a few others, and when we return from Gotham it will be with his replacement," the empath answered, her voice cracking as the pain caused from her partner's concern twisted a knife into her gut.

"That's awful Rae… but there's something else you're not saying. I can feel it love."

The particular term of endearment was a bit more then the empath was able to take and she teleported herself over to the girl's door, and upon hearing Jinx's small gasp of startlement, the psion whispered, "I'm going to meet my brother's there," causing the hexcaster's eyes to fly open in surprise just as the empath dissipated.

She reappeared on the Titan's roof, seeking sanctuary from all of the Tower's inhabitants. Slowly, she wandered over to the roof's edge before realizing that she wasn't the only one there. Quietly, the blonde earthbender waved her over and the empath nodded before striding over and sitting beside the blue eyed girl, careful to avoid her tail.

"Hey," she offered meekly.

"Hey," the earthbender replied, "What's up?"

"You know that feeling you get when something bad might happen if you say something someone wouldn't want to hear?"

"I'm assuming that since we've gotten past the whole 'you're a bloody traitor and I hate you' thing that you're talking about something besides me."

"Well," the empath nodded in amusement, "not everything revolves around you."

The blonde grinned and turned her attention to the city across the bay; "So what's the going on that you can't talk about? I mean, it can't be worse than anything I've done. You can tell me."

"I… I have certain… _opinions_ about… _someone_," the empath stated cautiously, "and that someone might just be on the road to having their heart ripped out by someone else and I am powerless to stop it."

"Raven, Star's a strong girl. She's knew that Robin –er, _Nightwing_," she corrected, "was leaving before _he _did. I'm sure she's going to be fine after a couple of good cries and a good pint of Benny's Best. I mean, it's not like they can't keep in contact or anything."

"Yes…well…" the psion managed to reply, unsure of weather she wanted to correct the bender's assumptions or just roll with it.

"If you're that worried Raven, you could probably keep an eye on her or two. She'll probably be grateful for it anyway," she replied with a smile. Raven smiled too, though it did not reach her eyes. Then the blonde's brows furrowed and she hesitantly asked, "Raven?"

"Mmm?"

"What's it like… being… er, well…"

"Demonic?"

She nodded.

The empath looked up to the sky, watching the clouds wander across the endless expanse for a moment before closing her eyes, her violet hair whipping gently against her face.

"You know that feeling… when you're thousands of feet in the air in the very first moment after the battle is won and you know you can do anything while still being absolutely terrified that you're going to fail? It's a lot like that."

"Oh."

The pair watched the sky for a few moments in compatible silence, each with their own thoughts.

"Raven?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck. With your brother's I mean. The word about it already spread across the Tower… "

"Thanks you. I… I feel suddenly that I might as much luck as I am allotted…" the empath trailed off quietly; Terra's large eyes glued to her.

"Raven?" she hushedly asked, "What happens if you die?"

The question sucked the breath from the empath's lungs and tunneled into her gut, twisting and pulling like a trapped snake of awareness. _What is she _did_ lose?_ _What if her flesh lived on souless? Wreaking havoc and chaos where she had no control over it? Was that possible? What if she lost what little humanity she had left? What if her brothers took the Earth over? Would they be able to bring their father back? _She only had a few hours to think. To come up with some sort of failsafe. She sunk into her inky back shadow and disappeared, leaving the understanding blonde to her own thoughts once more.

_Her father could not win. She could not fail. No matter the price she might have to pay._

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><p><strong><em>Now, I'm really not trying to bash Kid Flash. At all.<em> I'm actually against character bashing, especially for the sake of creating a noncanoncal romance. The Wally in my story is the fastest man alive, he's read every book in the library, he's learned as much as he could from his mentors just as he did in the comics. He feels that he has a lot to live up to and that leaves him feeling insecure, a hole which he attempts to fill with charming the ladies as it brings him a sense of accomplishment. In this story he was friends and crushing with Artemis long before getting involved with Jinx, whom he dated with a white knight complex. When Jinx left to the Tower, he ran into his old friend and things sparked. Now Wally is trying to figure everything out, what he wants, what he should do, and how to keep things from getting out of control. **

**Too bad there's demons abound in this story...**

**Also, I also do not hate Terra, and I am attempting to portray her as the girl who's been around a few blocks in her life, but still possesses a kind of innocence that is her unrealized salvation. That... might become less crazy/weird sounding as the story progresses. **

**Thank you for all the reviews. **

**Next chapter, contingency plans, gutter allies, blood trails, mystery and intrigue coupled with multiple POV's and more trouble across the relationships. **


	16. Contingency Plans

**I do not own anything, I'm just here for the entertainment. **

**In which we experience the final calm before the storm and find some contingency plans...**

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><p>She only had a few hours until dawn to come up with a solution, some sort of failsafe; the empath paced back and forth in her room taking turns staring at her books and at the city across the bay. The most logical thing she should do<em>,<em> she thought, was to prepare for the event of her death, no matter how improbable or likely that was to be. If she died, or else…was turned somehow from her teammates, then it was likely that no one would be able to stop her or her demonic family. Of course, the only way she had been able to stop her father in the first place was a mixture of fortune and her white soulself… To be honest, the empath wasn't quite sure just what her "white robed" persona consisted of; but whatever it was, it was the only thing the dark titan could think of that could possibly come close to defeating her father, her brothers, or herself.

_But how was she to make it work?_

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><p>The hex caster sat on her bed, sketchbook splayed open in her lap, flipping through the pages and trying to make sense of them. They were important somehow, the feeling kept nagging at the back of her brain but she couldn't place what it was. Neither could she push the empath from her mind, nor the violet haired girl's strange behavior. Raven had lied to her. <em>Well, not exactly lied, but she was still holding something back,<em> she chided to herself with a click of her tongue. _What was going on that the psion couldn't bring herself to tell her? _She was sure that whatever it was, was important as well. She sighed and flipped another page in her sketchbook and stared at the image of Raven's mentor, or rather, the half of the image that was there. The opposite half wasn't drawn in leaving Jinx to wonder why that was. The sound of her door sliding open brought a smile to her face and Jinx lifted her head up but found her smile wavering when it was her boyfriend at her door and not her best friend. She pushed the feeling aside and tossed him her best grin before looking back at the sketches.

"Hey Slowpoke, what's up?" he asked before sitting next to the pink eyed sorceress.

"Nothin much, just piecing this all together."

"Still on about the drawings then?" he asked before plopping onto his back, "Seriously, that can't be healthy for you."

The hexcaster neglected comment and instead turned to the last page before sighing and tossed the book haphazardly to the floor.

"Aw, come on now, no need for all that," the speedster commented, catching the book before it hit the carpet. He placed the book on the desk and stood in front of the hexcaster. She rubbed her temples for a few moments in reply with her brow raised.

"Come on, can't be that bad can it? They're just drawings after all. I mean, Logan draws hamburgers sometimes and he doesn't get worked up about it. and you know how that boy feels 'bout burgers."

"I'm not getting worked up," she replied icily, standing up, "I'm trying to figure out what's going on," she continued, pushing past him and walking towards another journal filled with similar drawings.

"Well if that's the way you want it babe," he replied sadly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hearing the tone in his voice the hexcaster stopped and turned around, feeling a little guilty for the way she had been pushing him aside lately, not to mention her placing the psion as her top priority as of late... The violet girl was her fiend and was going through a rough patch, it only made sense to want to help her. no one could blame her for having the girl on her mind all the time. After all, it wasn't like she was cheating on him or anything like that. still, she supposed, she probably did owe the boy something as he was in fact her boyfriend, but she wasn't going to just let him roll her over either, as they were still working things out and all.

"So… what'cha in for mate?" she chided, a cocky grin spread across her face.

"Oh nothing much, just checking up on my best girl," he replied with equal mirth as he pulled her into a hug.

"Bitch please, I'm your only girl," she retorted before placing a kiss on his jaw and pulling away.

"Yeah," he sheepishly chuckled in reply, "of course…"

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><p>Dawn broke slowly over Jump City and the Tower, and for Raven, it was a testimony to her diligence and intellectual wit. She had completed the basics and laid down the founding spells that had been required and her room looked like it had been through a natural disaster. The holy dagger had been hard to produce, but a quick journey to the nearest church had fixed that problem, though the trip had shaved precious time from the few hours that had been available for her to work with. In hindsight she should have sent one of the others in her stead, but if one wanted to make sure things were done properly… she sighed. There was nothing more that she could do now other than to collect her team and pass out orders. She teleported via Azarathian express into the Common Room and looked mournfully at the cabinet containing her herbal teas. There would be no food or drink in her foreseeable future from now on, what with her powers being what they were and on that note, she would have to invest in some special oils as bathing was also out of the question...<p>

She pressed the alarm on her communicator that would startle he team awake should they still be sleeping. She waited patiently as one by one the small group trickled in and stood before her, their expressions ranging from tired to grim and firm.

"Before we start our mission I have a few things to go over. Donna, Rose, if I could have a word with both of you privately?"

Nodding the two stepped forward and followed the girl into the nest room without protest. Wordlessly the empath held out two objects, a dagger and a crystal, and handed one to each of them.

Donna stared at the rock in her hand, the power radiating from it leaving a strange warmth in her hands. Ravager held the new blade in front of her good eye, eyeing the blade's edge and calculating its efficiency.

"These are neither toys nor ordinary objects. They are not to be used for anything other then the purpose for which they are intended. Donna," she began, causing Wonder Girl to snap her attention to the empath, "that stone you hold in your hands houses a fragment of my soul. In the event that I become tainted, you may use it, but only then."

"How does it work?"

"That… I am not so sure of. I'm afraid I didn't have a lot of time to work everything out…" she sighed, "It is my fault, I should have begun preparation long ago when I first learned of my brothers…"

"Well we'll just have to work with what we've got then. What's the dagger for?" Ravager asked, slipping the blade into her pack.

"It's the final resort. The blade is both cleansed and blessed, it should prove… effective against me should I… become… _unreasonable_."

"You want us to kill you?" Donna asked aghast.

"I want Rose to kill me. She's the only one capable of doing so without remorse, sans perhaps Terra, though I would not wish such a task on her shoulders. As I said previously however, I would rather my death be the last resort as I'm not quite sure what would happen if my body was permanently separated from my soul. You Donna, I want you to keep that shard, and if I lose myself completely to my darkness, I need you to use it on me, it should be strong enough to cleanse away the problem."

"I understand," Rose stated calmly, nodding.

"Donna?"

"Yes, I understand," she replied quietly, also nodding before standing straighter, "You may count on us."

"I also need your silence on the matter, it would prove… _troublesome_ to have the others knowing. Especially about the dagger Rose."

"We won't speak a word of it to anyone," Wonder Girl replied with her hand over her heart in promise.

"Good, now, let's get back to the others and get going," she ordered.

The two girls nodded once more and turned to follow her back into the common room where a sleepy changeling, a Tamaranean warrior princess and bluebird were waiting.

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><p>"Do you think we'll find them straight away or do you think we'll need to draw them out?"<p>

Raven kicked the corpse in front of her, causing Beast Boy to gag at the sight; Starfire was hovering a few feet away, her hands clasped over her nose. Donna Troy was standing beside the Tamaranean, her red dressing catching the light from the dungy streetlamp some feet away. Rose Wilson stood silently, waiting for the demon's orders. This was the fifth body that they had found, and all were consistent, though Raven was unable to say quite how that was so. It was beginning to take its toll on most of the group however, even though none present were non-familiar with death in some degree.

"Come," was all the psion replied to the small team.

They walked silently through the dark polluted city streets, following the empath's instincts and the changeling's nose. They made their way silently, each afraid of what they had seen and what was yet to come, but mostly, afraid of the horned girl leading them once more into the pits of Hell. To all but Ravager, it was strange following the female bird, and not her masculine counterpart. None dared to dwell too much on it however, as the further they went, the more focused and frustrated the girl seemed to become.

"Raven… what's wrong?" asked the redhead from a few feet above the psion.

"This is taking too long."

"Then perhaps we should venture to our destination?"

"Not yet, they don't know we're here yet."

"How are we gonna tell them?" the green boy cut in, "I mean like, dude, we're not gonna like _hurt_ anyone are we?"

"Unfortunately, that would in fact be the simplest way to go about it… but I'd rather not resort to that if I can help it. I'm on thin ice with Bruce as it is..."

"Bruce?" asked Wonder girl in confusion.

"Dude, he's like Robin's dad or something."

"Oh… Wait, the _old_ Robin or the _new_ one?"

"Silence!" the empath snapped harshly, causing the others to flinch before closing their mouths.

"What is it dear friend?"

"I'm sensing something…"

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><p><strong>Hooray for Raven knowing everything she doesn't need to know and nothing that she does. Funny how life works that way. <strong>

**So Jinx is thinking about Raven a lot, which is nice to know. She's still with Flash though... Maybe after Raven meets her brothers things will go differently. **

**Now, canon wise, Donna did get the shard of Raven's pure self. And after one of Raven's deaths Starfire actually carried Raven's soul in her own body for a while. Ravager never killed her though. and things are of course going to be a tad different in this story. **

**This also marks the first chapter where Dick Grayson is now out of the picture for the most part.**

**I'm sorry I didn't add any of their trip to Gotham, but as raven just teleported them there, there wasn't much to say about it. Also I will get to the Starfire/Nightwing angle eventually if all goes as planned. **

**In the next chapter Raven meets her brothers, and a certain close relation she had no knowledge existed and perhaps Jinx starts piecing some things together. **


	17. Mirrored Connection

**So hello again reader, **

**A bit of trouble on the roadblock front, so I'm going to give you what I have while I attack the next bit into submission. **

**This is probably full of errors and such, please forgive 'em. **

**In this, Raven receives mysterious signals that intensify and leaves poor Jinxy-cat all frustrated...**

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><p>The empath stared off into a void that only she could see while the others stood anxiously for whatever revelation Raven would no doubt profess. Beast Boy particularly took the few seconds of blatant surreal uncertainty rather poorly, and channeled his unease from one foot to the other while his ears twitched unconsciously for any sound producing threat. Ravager stood at ready ease, a hand on a hilt and her eye remained focused on the girl with violet locks. Donna and Kori were also silent but slightly worried.<p>

Wordlessly, the empath started walking towards the direction of the pull. There was familiarity in the pull, though the caller was as foreign to her as long division was to Teether. The thought brought no comfort to the empath, no smile to her lips. Instead she closed her eyes and opened her mind, clearing the static from her channel to better receive the wordless call which threatened to burst inside her skull should she choose to ignore it. It would have been foolish to pin the psychic brushing on her wayward brothers she knew, they had no knowledge that she and her squad mates were slinking into the very heart of their territory. _No_, she thought, this call was a _distress_ call. It was being pushed through several different planes and layers of the cities mass core; a beacon amidst a sea of people who were blind to all but their own suffering, a vivid working model of Hell. It reminded the demon just why there were so few empaths living in the forsaken city of glorified sin, aside from the overwhelming and suffering collective conscious of the city the millions of individual citizens cast out their emotions like rock concerts complete with individual sound systems, each mind struggling to be heard from among the masses.

In Jump City, removing the block from her consciousness resulted in overwhelming stimuli, and it had left her weak and sickly, taking days to fully recover from the onslaught of foreign relentless emotions that brought her to her knees within moments. Of course, the last time she had done so was before the defeat of her father. Currently, in Gotham, functioning with her floodgates open surprisingly felt as natural as breathing and the psion found herself soothed by the torment of the populace and giddy at the taint of the souls locked bar and key in the Asylum. _Sin and Madness were a fine wine, there was no harm in appreciating the aesthetics of the bottle, and no shame in sampling the cider; after all, when in Rome… _

Slowly the small group traversed the city streets, trading crowded walkways for dodgy alleyways and narrow rooftops. As they went Raven focused on the individual signature that had pulled with a siren's wail and ate at her conscious like repentance. She knew it would be better to seek her quarry as planned, her brothers no doubt killing more of the innocent even as she was taking her next breath. She could not deny the feeling however, the bond. For the connection was both stirring and captivating. It was as repulsive as it was beautiful, sheer perfection in its flaws, and the demon eyed girl could not find the will to begrudge the pained one even as her blood began singing to hasten her pace and hurt laced throughout her chest.

"Raven… where are we going?" asked the changeling tentatively.

"…Do you smell it Gar?" she asked ominously, ignoring his question, "There's a sickness in the air..."

"And here I thought that was just all the garbage and decaying _corpses_…" he mumbled to himself, his lip snagging on his snaggletooth; the green haired lad found himself beginning to doubt the dark Titan and her ability to lead.

Raven couldn't blame him for his discrepancies of the situation at hand, he simply wasn't aware like she was. He held no knowledge of the dire importance the pleading voice was relaying. A voice that even now wailed to the seven winds as if its very soul was being torn asunder, a feeling of ultimate pain and suffering. _Yes,_ she thought, she knew that feeling well; it had been the sound from her own throat as Brother Blood tore into her and the same sound spewing from her lips as her body had ripped itself apart to become her father's portal into the mortal realm. The sound had been of ultimate suffering, same as the sound now within her mind.

She knew this suffering. And by her father's damnation, she would put a stop to it no matter the cost.

A hand on her shoulder soon jarred her from her thoughts and the psion shook her head to clear the hooked laced cries away.

"Raven, dear friend, please enlighten us," the warrior princess asked, her long red hair ignited against the wind.

"The things I sensed, the sickness… It's calling out and when I responded it clung. Strengthened. Whatever it is, it is sentient and in terrible pain and anguish. We must help it. Perhaps by doing so we will also find my brothers…"

The small team nodded in acceptance, their expressions grim but compliant, and they pressed forth into the city once more.

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><p>Jinx was exhausted and sweaty. Her clothes clung to the moister exuding from her skin and whenever she pulled against their constraints, they made a slight peeling sound. Her hair was limp and lifeless, a dull pink color, pulled into twin ponytails that crept mercilessly against her neck. Her body was sore, overworked and protesting greatly but she heeded none of it. The hexcaster had been running the treadmill for over a better part of two hours, the same length of time that her partner had been crusading in the city of the corrupted. Two hours ago the psion had left, and two hours ago that strange feelings had begun to wash over her, radiating from her very centre of being. Two hours ago that she had escaped from the worried concerns of her significant other and found refuge in the gym.<p>

Something was wrong and she couldn't figure out what it was, only that it likely had something to do with the winged Titan. Wally hadn't understood, and in truth she hadn't expected him too. Explaining to him what was actually wrong was like trying to describe an orgasm to a virgin, only far less pleasant; she was bonded to the Azarathian, connected in way that those without similar experience couldn't ever fully comprehend. Explaining to Flash that she couldn't just calm down and ignore what was rippling through her was like trying to tell him that she could as easily ignore it as she could ignore iron cuffs clamping around her wrists or being set on fire for an undeterminable amount of time. _She couldn't ignore it if she tried. _

Not that he hadn't tried to help with it of course, offering to make a quick dash to Gotham and see if the horned girl was alright, even going so far as to offer other more _promiscuous_ ways of helping her to blow off the broiling steam inside of her skin; both offers she had refused and then had hastily made her exit; if Raven was in trouble she wanted to know, not stuff the problems away while she took a couple of quick fixes in the sack. It wasn't that the hexcaster was adverse to Wally's advances, on principle she was always up for anything adrenalin or endorphin related, but not only were they still navigating very rocky emotional territory lately, the heart of the matter was, the pink haired girl didn't feel that trading her responsibilities for sex was the proper thing for a Titan to do. Especially if it meant her partner and friend was going to end up hurting because of it.

Feeling the pain rippling off the dark Titan while she was in the same breathing space as her boyfriend was cruel enough.

She knew there wasn't much she would be able to do while being stuck across the opposite side of the continent from her partner, but she wanted to _know_. She wanted to carry some of the empath's many burdens to lessen the girl's frightening load. She hoped Wallace would be able to respect that, even if he couldn't quite understand it.

So unable to focus on anything but the surges inside of her, Jinx ran on, ignoring everything save the beating of her heart and Raven's thunder in her head. With luck, the empath would be able to draw on her strength when whatever she was facing became too much, and with that hope in mind, the sorceress mentally garbled a silent prayer and ignored the pain in her lungs, desperate to relieve the tension mounting within her.

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><p><strong>So now we know that while Raven's been feeling what Jinx's been feeling, the opposite is holding true as well, and poor old Flashy isn't going to be getting any any time soon. <strong>

I laugh evilly at his torment.

**I'm a terrible person.**

**In any case, there's going to be much more interesting things in the next chapter, ie Raven's brothers, which I promised in the last one. I'm getting to everything, I swear! It's just taking awhile...**

_**. nope.**_

**Read Comment & Enjoy!**

**Happy reading! **


	18. Baited Breath

**Hello readers! it has been far too long! Hopefully soon I'll have some "actual" content posted soon instead of small tidbits. Soon the plot shall advance! I haven't forgotten this story, andI thank everyone for their patience and encouragement. **

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><p>Wyld whimpered and pushed himself further into the back of his crate in a fruitless attempt to avoid Envy's horrible shock producing stick. The half demon ignored the creature's hapless protests and prodded him again, eliciting another shrill wail and another psychic blast. He personally couldn't hear anything but the verbal screeches, but Lust had been certain that the beat's pain would draw their sister's attention; and if it didn't, <em>well<em>, the black haired boy smiled a toothy grin, _at least he would have something to amuse himself with_.

Jesse, still grinning, prodded the beast again and frowned as a thunderous crack spliced the air to his left. He turned his attention away from the beast and watched his brother step out from the rift.

"You look fucking queer Jacob," he taunted, taking in the dress his brother was wearing.

"It's called a disguise you dumbass," Lust sneered with a shake of his head, "Now, has she arrived yet?"

"Haven't seen 'er," he replied flippantly before returning his attention to tormenting the caged beast, "Why do _you_ get to do it anyway?" he asked as he shocked the beast again.

Lust sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Because I'm the only one who can make a replicate of her mentor without screwing anything up, that's why," he retorted, "Now stop fucking about with that thing before it bites you and make yourself useful for a change."

"Wha'd'you need me to do?"

"Get everyone to the lair and for godsakes, get the place presentable!"

Jesse dropped the cattle prod and his eyes narrowed in confusion, "Pre..senta..ble?"

Jacob sighed and replied as if explaining to a child, "She's a _lady_. Get the place clean. Fill it with scented candles and quality curtains or something, I don't care. But if she gets there and she's not pleased I'm going to let her take it up with _you_."

Envy swallowed nervously and nodded before sprinting to the hideout. He snarled angrily as he did so, fuming that his sister was to get such special consideration and privileges. It just wasn't _fair_.

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><p>The rain began trickling down, covering the city in a thin veil of mist and acrid pollution. Raven took shelter beneath a large overhang as the changeling scented the air in his slightly comical bloodhound form. They were getting closer, and even the normally cheerful redheaded warrior princess felt the twinges of oncoming fate. Donna and Ravager passed silent looks to each other occasionally, as if each were reaffirming their earlier promise should something go amiss; because they both had been keeping the empath under close scrutiny, they were the first to notice how the rain turned red as it hit her flesh. Suddenly, this mission became far more grave then they had initially anticipated.<p>

"Raven… are you well?" asked the Tamaranean, her hands clenched in front of her bosom.

Startled out of her reverie, the psion glanced at herself and caught the prompt for the redhead's concern. She fluffed her feathers slightly before clenching them tighter; she nodded to relax the girl before further adding, "I'm fine Star, water just doesn't seem to sit too well with me lately."

She gave a halfhearted smile and turned her attention to the changeling who regained his human form; he was panting slightly and instinctively shook to help rid himself of the excess water accumulated on his person. Raven scowled as she was hit with the wayward drops and the green haired teen chuckled sheepishly in response.

"Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, um there was like a bunch of smells though and one of them was really weird and I think one of them was your mother –mentor! I meant Mentor!" he quickly corrected, rubbing his forehead.

"Azar is here?" she asked in surprise, "Odd…"

"Maybe she's the one you were talking about earlier? The calling thing?" Rose offered.

"No," Raven replied, shaking her head and further splattering the pavement with red, "I would have known her mind the instant I felt it."

"Perhaps she also investigated this call?"

"Maybe Star," agreed the empath, "but we won't know until we find them."

"So we just keep wandering around until we stumble across something?" Donna asked skeptically.

"No. Donna, I want you and Logan to scout the streets further. These bodies need to be cataloged and identified if possible. Send the information to Oracle, she'll do the rest. Rose, Starfire, I want you two to keep an eagle's eye, try to stick to the rooftops if you can, but watch out for the rogues. They like to travel up there from what I understand."

"Dude, you're like going to go after this thing _alone_?"

"If I was going to do this alone Garfield," she retorted, the changeling flinching at the use of his full name, "I wouldn't have brought you all. I am going in while you all monitor the situation. If I show up with an army there's no telling how much blood will be needlessly spilled, I want to avoid confrontation if I can help it."

"But they're like _demons_," Beast Boy persisted.

"Exactly. Tell me Gar, if I was at full power with no regard for mortal life would _you_ wish to _fight_ me?"

"No," he relented sadly.

"Good, because you'd die," she replied icily; her face softened at his expression and she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, if everything goes to hell you all will provide the basket."

The green Titan grinned, his spirits lifted.

"Alright then team," the psion began, "Let's move out."

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><p><strong>I do not own anything, so let's not get hasty now. <strong>


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